Duke Heads for the Stir

Reading the rundowns on the ill-gotten gains of Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham reminds me of that old Bugs Bunny cartoon with the line "I am Elmer J. Fudd, Millionaire. I own a mansion and a yacht."

No contractors were named in the plea agreement but prosecutors said some months ago they were investigating the $1.6 million sale in 2003 of Cunningham's home in Del Mar, California, [to] Mitchell Wade. Wade was until recently the chief executive of Washington-based defense contractor MZM, Inc.

Wade quickly sold the home for a $700,000 loss in the midst of San Diego's booming housing market.

The U.S. Attorney's office in San Diego said another, unnamed, defense contractor paid off the mortgage on Cunningham's new multimillion dollar home in the San Diego area, while a third contractor provided a $200,000 downpayment on a condominium in Virginia.

Cunningham also received a yacht, a Rolls-Royce, jewelry, rugs and travel expenses, according to court documents.

As part of the plea agreement, Cunningham agreed to forfeit more than $1.8 million in cash, his interest in his San Diego homes and more than a dozen antiques and pieces of furniture.

The yacht on which he was living rent-free while his was in the shop, was called, ironically, the Duke Stir.

How long it will be before we hear the voices on the right about this case? Do you suppose that having a member of the Defense Appropriations subcommittee taking bribes from military contractors during wartime might affect the morale of the troops even more than suggesting we bring them home? Are we going to hear anyone on that side describing what Cunningham did as "treason?"

At least the Duke copped a plea, and saved us the expense of a trial.

Meanwhile, I'm wondering how much longer it will be before we hear about the contracts bribester Mitchell Wade's company got from the Executive Office of the President. Some of us have been wondering about that since June.

Government procurement records show that MZM, which Wade started in 1993, did not report any revenue from prime contract awards until 2003. Most of its revenue has come from the agreement the Pentagon just cut off. But over the past three years it was also awarded several contracts, worth more than $600,000, by the Executive Office of the President. They include a $140,000 deal for office furniture in 2002 and several for unspecified "intelligence services."