The Fall of Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham
2005 Polk Award for Political Reporting


Marcus Stern, Jerry Kammer and Dean Calbreath
Copley News Service & The San Diego Union-Tribune
 

Lawmaker's home sale questioned: A defense contractor with ties to Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham took a $700,000 loss on the purchase of the congressman's Del Mar house while the congressman, a member of the influential defense appropriations subcommittee, was supporting the contractor's efforts to get tens of millions of dollars in contracts from the Pentagon.

Cunningham's Realtor a longtime contributor: A Realtor who Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham said had set a fair and independent price for the controversial November 2003 sale of his Del Mar home to a defense contractor was a longtime contributor to the Rancho Santa Fe Republican.


Workers say MZM founder pressed them to give to PAC: Mitchell Wade, founder of the defense contracting firm MZM Inc., pressured employees to donate to a political fund that benefited Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham and other members of Congress, according to three former employees of the company.
 

Bulk of MZM work came in controversial process: The vast majority of government work done by MZM Inc., a defense contractor with ties to Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham, came through a streamlined but controversial procurement process called a blanket-purchase agreement.


Boat sale by 'Duke' made him $400,000: Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham made roughly a $400,000 profit by selling the boat he lived aboard in the nation's capital from 1997 to 2002 to a businessman convicted in a bid-rigging scheme. The man said he subsequently got advice from Cunningham about how to pursue a presidential pardon from the Bush administration.


Politicians' private-jet use raises questions: San Diego's Group W Transportation is a private air carrier so small that until recently its entire fleet consisted of a one-16th ownership stake in a Lear jet.


Lawmaker contacted contractor early on: Shortly after House Speaker Dennis Hastert selected Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham to serve on the House intelligence committee in 2001, the Rancho Santa Fe Republican sent a letter to Poway defense contractor Brent Wilkes.


Contractor 'knew how to grease the wheels': In government documents, he is referred to as "co-conspirator No. 1": a man who gave more than $630,000 in cash and favors to former Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham for help in landing millions of dollars in federal contracts.



A steady flow of financial influence:From powerful positions on the House Appropriations Committee, California Rep. Jerry Lewis has greenlighted hundreds of millions of dollars in federal projects for clients of one of his closest friends, lobbyist and former state Congressman Bill Lowery.