10-year sentence sought for Cunningham
Prosecutors recommend punishment for former congressman for
bribery

The Associated Press
Feb. 17, 2006

SAN DIEGO - Prosecutors have recommended that disgraced former
Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham receive a maximum sentence of
10 years in prison for his "stunning betrayal of the public trust,"
according to a sentencing memorandum filed Friday.

"Cunningham used his status as a war hero to get into Congress,
and then he used his Congressional office to get rich," prosecutors
wrote in the 35-page memorandum. "For the better part of a
decade, Cunningham, in effect, erected a 'for sale' sign upon our
nation's capital."

Cunningham, 64, resigned from Congress last year after pleading
guilty to accepting $2.4 million in bribes from defense contractors
and others in exchange for defense contracts and other favors. The
former "Top Gun" flight instructor and Vietnam War flying ace is
scheduled to be sentenced March 3 in U.S. District Court in
San Diego.

The sentencing memorandum displayed a "bribe menu" written under
the congressional seal on Cunningham's office stationery. One
column of figures represented the millions of dollars in contracts
that could be "ordered" from Cunningham, according to
prosecutors. The right column showed the amount of bribes
Cunningham demanded in return.

According to prosecutors, Cunningham offered defense contractor
Mitchell Wade $16 million in contracts in exchange for a $140,000
bribe, which came in the form of a 42-foot yacht, the Duke-Stir.

Prosecutors also accused the former congressman of fabricating
evidence and tampering with witnesses to cover up the extent of his
greed.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11416850/from/RS.1/





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