Maximum Sought for Cunningham

Federal prosecutors Friday recommended that former Rep. Randall “Duke” Cunningham serve the maximum 10 years in prison for what they called “unparalleled corruption” and “naked avarice” in seeking and taking $2.4 million in bribes.

U.S. Atty. Carol Lam and Assistant U.S. Attys. Sanjay Bhandari, Jason Forge and Phillip Halpern also recommended that Cunningham, who resigned in November after pleading guilty to bribery and tax evasion, also be ordered to pay $1.56 million in taxes and penalties and forfeit $1.85 million in bribe money and items provided to him by four alleged co-conspirators.

The 35-page document blisters Cunningham for arranging and overseeing a “lengthy and widespread bribery” scheme and even providing co-conspirators with a “bribe menu” detailing how much money he required to provide a certain dollar amount in federal contracts.

Cunningham, 63, a Vietnam War hero and conservative Republican who was in his eighth term when he resigned, is to be sentenced March 3.

Cunningham’s attorney, K. Lee Blalack, said that “for a man of Duke’s age and medical condition, such punishment would likely be a death sentence.” Cunningham has undergone surgery for prostate cancer.

“Duke devoted most of his life to serving this nation honorably in times of war and peace,” Blalack said. “If such a man doesn’t deserve mercy, no one does.”

Blalack submitted letters from former Navy pilots, San Diego religious leaders and Peter Yarrow of Peter, Paul and Mary attesting to Cunningham’s good character. Yarrow wrote that he and Cunningham are “polar opposites politically” but joined together in issues involving children’s health.

The prosecutors’ document portrays Cunningham as aggressively demanding bribes from defense contractors and people linked to them in exchange for using his position on congressional committees to help them.

Prosecutors do not detail exactly how much help or what contracts Cunningham may have steered toward the four co-conspirators. They said such information cannot be made public because the four are still being investigated.

The document says that an unnamed Cunningham staff member became alarmed in 2003 that Cunningham might be taking bribes. When confronted, the often volatile lawmaker angrily told the staffer to shut up, the document says.

Again in 2004, the document says, a staffer became worried about possible bribes and “requested that the congressman either resign or [announce] he would not seek reelection.”

Among the things that bothered the staffer was the sale of Cunningham’s home in Del Mar Heights to a defense contractor for what appeared to be an inflated price. Cunningham and his wife, Nancy, used the profits to buy a $2.5-million mansion in Rancho Santa Fe.

When the San Diego Union-Tribune revealed the sale in June 2005, it sparked a federal investigation that uncovered other alleged bribes and led to Cunningham’s tearful resignation.

The Rancho Santa Fe home was seized by federal officials; furnishings and other items allegedly supplied by his co-conspirators are to be sold at an auction ordered by the Internal Revenue Service.