Brent Wilkes, the Most Innocent Man on Eardth

San Diego, California/Washington D.C.--Brent Wilkes didn't do anything wrong. Ignore the October conviction for money laundering and bribery of a public official. According to him, his former ADCS never attempted to bribe congressmen with gifts, money, more gifts, a boat, a couple mortgage payments, throwing poker games for Randy Cunningham at poker (while letting him win, a bribe)...and women.

Well, at least that's what the convicted briber, government contractor, de facto lobbyist, and pimp has to say these days. Pimp? Yes, pimp. A pimp would wear a camo-tux, wouldn't they?

For reasons known only to government prosecutors (and perhaps the White House), they decided to isolate all evidence and testimony of Brent Wilkes's soliciting prostitutes-for-government contracts to the Hawaii jaunt of the former GOP Representative Randy Cunningham. Was this part of the reason for the firing of those bothersome U.S. Attorneys, namely like Carol Lam and David Iglesias?

Yet, we still see periodic stories on Shirlington Limousine and Democratic Rep. Louise Slaughter's efforts to get an investigation going into Shirlington's contracts with the scandal-ridden Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. All of her efforts have stalled. Why is that? Why does a convicted felon with a 60-plus page rap sheet get first-dibs on contracts with DHS, and why then does Congress rate it as unimportant with no real action to discover what really happened? Because many of them already know what happened. The not to investigate would be because it's of great importance, so why not schedule hearings on steroids in the major leagues?

Surely, Brent R. Wilkes and his wordy attorney Mark Geragos can convince the court and federal probation officials that he's innocent after receiving a fair trial? No, I didn't think so either. But what do you do when your client is caught, cold, hard busted and politicians (yes, plural) are also part of the game? You rely on semantics, word-games, and the predictable technicality that won't go anywhere to buy a little time. San Diego Union-Tribune journalist Greg Moran noted:

Geragos took issue with those claims in a broad legal attack. In recent years the U.S. Supreme Court has said judges can't impose a sentence based on any factors that were not found to be true, beyond a reasonable doubt, by a jury. The court has ruled that would be a violation of the fair trial rights of defendants. In Wilkes' case, Geragos argued that the factors cited by probation officials as reason to increase the sentence were not found to be true by a jury. For example, he said there was no jury finding that Cunningham was an elected official. (Signs on San Diego.com, 02.09.2008)

Eventually comes the mandatory quibbling over the meaning of words--we understand where Geragos is trying to take this. Into overtime. Wilkes and his attorney have contended since the beginning that the Poway contractor never did anything differently from all the other lobbyists and contractors. On this, we can take Wilkes at his word.

And what of the "cigar parties" at the Watergate (the GOP appears to have a fetish for this building, trying to get things right the second time) and the Westin hotels? We know that there were "women present," that some congressmen went off to rooms with them, but most-of-all, we know who brought these women there: Christopher D. Baker, CEO of Shirlington Limousine. From the early-1990s until Cunningham, Wilkes, Mitchell Wade, Thomas Kontogiannis, and the other "co-conspirators" were nabbed by federal investigators, Baker's Shirlington Limousine was ferrying them there. It's like that they were ferried to other locations, as Wade has discussed that Cunningham was frequently calling Wilkes for companionship. Shirlington was also involved in some of these acts of soliciting.

What's so fantastical about these recent legal moves is the fact that Wilkes had been caught red-handed lying about his alleged "poverty" during his trial. For these claims, he was given federal defense funds for his legal costs, costs that federal prosecutors now want him to pay back in-full. Will Brent Wilkes start talking? For real? This 36-page filing by Geragos is worthless, just a response to the sentencing and the fact that Wilkes was caught lying about yet another thing.

Poway defense contractor Brent Wilkes came under scrutiny after federal prosecutors cried foul last week, filing court documents claiming Wilkes has more money than he has let on in court. They asked U.S. District Judge Larry Alan Burns to force Wilkes to retain private counsel and pay back the costs of the public defense attorneys representing him."The use of public funds while the defendant continues to spend his ill-gotten gains must stop," prosecutors wrote in a motion filed in federal court last week. Prosecutors argue that Wilkes had access to more than $1 million in assets, which he used to pay bills, including mortgages and divorce attorneys. (North County Times, 02.05.2005)

As of this writing, Wilkes is still receiving federal defense funds. Somehow, we're supposed to ignore all that and trust him now. Never mind that he's had his time in the courts. If he really wanted to contest that his trial was unfair, why not point-out that he subpoenaed 13 members of Congress, which the prosecution successfully quashed?

To open that door is to take a bigger gamble than the poker games at the Watergate and the Westin. Interestingly, one of the money-laundering "co-conspirators" by the name of John Thomas Michael (nephew to co-defendant and possible CIA financial/banking-asset Thomas Kontogiannis) has changed his plea to "guilty" the very same day that the prosecutors attacked Wilkes over lying about hiding money from them. The stakes couldn't be higher. And there's more-to-come: Wilkes has upcoming charges in the trial of the former #3 man at the CIA, Kyle Dustin Foggo, his old childhood friend. The charge is bribery, but why isn't it for soliciting prostitution? Foggo is denying all connections to Shirlington Limo and the escorts. One can imagine why.

TPMuckraker on lying, thieving Brent R. Wilkes, February 5th, 2008: http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/02/prosecutors_wilkes_faked_pover.php

John Michael Thomas's guilty plea, 02.05.2008:

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/politics/20080205-9999-1m5michael.html

That wascally Bwent Wilkes and his vow of poverty
(Mitchell Wade looks like Azar's Big Boy):

http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2008/02/06/news/sandiego/20_32_052_5_08.txt

Signs on San Diego today:
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/metro/20080209-9999-1m9wilkes.html

The Real Reason Dennis Hastert is Resigning

Washington D.C./San Diego--All roads appear to be leading to both cities in a number of current scandals, and it appears that Illinois GOP Rep. Dennis Hastert is just another inept and corrupt fish caught in the nets of ongoing investigations, trials, and hearings. But if one reads the coverage today of Hastert's announcement that he won't be serving-out the rest of his term, one would think it has nothing to do with anything at all--just that it's time.

Indeed it is, because yesterday former GOP House Speaker Dennis Hastert was named in one of the hearings regarding the ever-widening net cast in the trial of Brent Wilkes, former proprietor of a San Diego-based defense contractor called "ADCS" that received incredible payouts in contracts thanks to the undue influence of then-Representative Randy "Duke" Cunningham.

Like Hastert, Cunningham is also a failed athlete and human being. Yet, besides being a former High School teacher (the last to know how things really work in America), Hastert was also a wrestling coach at that time, so one can assume he's been wrong-headed most of his natural--if not public--life. If you've been reading about the Brent Wilkes/Randy Cunningham saga at all, you'll note that the mainstream media has done its best to keep any other GOP congresspersons out of the spotlight, and as much as possible.

They're doing so today. Virtually none of the stories by the major wire services are connecting the decision of Hastert not to serve out the rest of his term with the testimony yesterday of Wilkes' nephew (and second--or third depending on the news source--hireling of Wilkes' contractor company ADCS) Joel Combs.

Wilkes also paid to fly Cunningham and former House Speaker Dennis Hastert from a golf outing in Palm Springs to San Diego for a reception and then back to Washington on private jets, Combs testified. Combs told prosecutors he didn't recall Cunningham ever volunteering to cover his share of the expenses. He said on cross-examination that he would not have been responsible for processing any reimbursements and did not know whether company accountants ever billed the congressman or his campaigns. Cunningham occasionally paid for wine at dinner with Wilkes, Combs testified. (AP, 10.17.2007)

And so, there it is: Wilkes appears to have allowed Hastert and Cunningham to come to San Diego on his dime, play some golf, and to fly back to Washington on separate, privately chartered jets. Yes, it's time alright. It's time for Dennis Hastert to secure legal representation if he doesn't have it already. He's in a lot of trouble, but at least the mainstream press is providing some cover for him and buying him some much needed time to regroup.

It begs-the-question: what other contractors in San Diego might be involved? Or are there just similar scandals waiting to be uncovered in the big defense contractor city? It's peculiar, a bunch of failed athletes who aren't particularly bright--one might be forgiven for thinking we were referring to the president, but like minds keep company. Considering Cunningham once served on the House Intelligence Committee, it might be a good idea to ask if SAIC (based in San Diego) had their fingers in the pie. You never know. The Wilkes trial is nearly over:

Brent Wilkes has pleaded not guilty to 14 charges of bribery, money laundering, fraud and conspiracy. The government entered phone records and other documents Thursday before jurors returned to the courtroom. They called their final witnesses Wednesday, including women who testified they were paid to have sex with Cunningham and Wilkes at a Hawaiian resort. Federal prosecutors have rested their case in the trial of a defense contractor charged with bribing former U.S. Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham. (AP, 10.18.2007)

Were they bribing Rep. Cunningham and others in Congress for contracts? It appears a strong possibility. Who else? Are others still doing so with other representatives? It deserves investigation. As this is being written, the prosecution has rested, and the defense has begun making its case. It's unclear whether a prima facie case(by all appearances unless rebutted) has been made at this point.

Hastert is also connected to the Jack Abramoff scandal and received over $100,000 in donations from the lobbyist's fundraising efforts on his behalf. It's appropriate at this point to consider that a March 2007 article on SAIC has fingered them on some serious ethical violations involving their work as a defense/intelligence contractor.

More recently, in June of this year, The San Diego Reader outlined some interesting connections between Brent Wilkes and another San Diego area based defense contractor, one Mitchell Wade. For months Wade has been confessing to government investigators the gist of it all: that Wilkes was running a system of bribes and rewards in-exchange for defense contracts in DC (and probably in the environs of San Diego when necessary), and maybe not just for himself. He has some strange accomplices.

Among those implicated is Kyle Dustin "Dusty" Foggo, an ex-San Diego cop, SDSU grad, and CIA agent. A boyhood friend of Wilkes, Foggo had been appointed to the CIA's third-highest post by Porter Goss, who recently was forced out of his job by the president. The latest San Diego link was first reported by the Washington Post on May 6: Jerome Foster, a downtown San Diego-based businessman. Foster was on the board of Shirlington Limousine, the company that furnished transportation for the alleged Cunningham assignations. Christopher Baker, Shirlington's owner, has a criminal history that reportedly includes felony charges for attempted robbery and car theft. (San Diego Reader, 06.08.2006)

And as quoted before on this site, Foster did subcontracting work with SAIC, primarily to secure them contracts as an almost "dummy firm" to increase their ability to hold more contracts than they were qualified to under federal statutes. But hey, what's the law mean under the current administration? Not much. Hastert sees the writing on the wall. It's time.

AP yesterday, and in another context so you don't notice: http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gRUhowrjXrAojU5jM1zd2hyExSAQ

Signs on San Diego today: http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/politics/20071018-9999-1m18wilkes.html

AP today on the Wilkes trial: http://www.mercurynews.com/breakingnews/ci_7212206

The San Diego Reader, June 8, 2006: http://www.sdreader.com/php/cityshow.php?id=1404