Articles From Graft Case to Be Auctioned

The Persian rugs, silver candelabra, vases, armoires, French commode, end tables, mirrors, buffet table, leather sofa, sleigh-style bed and custom oak and leaded-glass doors once adorned Randy “Duke” Cunningham’s 8,000-square-foot mansion in Rancho Santa Fe.

On Tuesday, they were spread across the concrete floor of a nondescript warehouse here, displayed by the Internal Revenue Service near crates of possessions seized from convicted drug dealers and financial finaglers. The Cunningham goods will be sold at auction next year under the government’s asset-forfeiture program.

“Some people like opulence,” said appraiser Dave McPheeters as he surveyed the expensive furnishings that contributed to the loss of Cunningham’s reputation, his seat in Congress, and, soon, his freedom. In his plea agreement with federal prosecutors, Cunningham admitted that the goods were given to him by military contractors as bribes.

Cunningham, 63, pleaded guilty last week to taking $2.4 million in bribes and to evading $1 million in taxes. The Republican’s formal resignation letter was submitted Tuesday to House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill).

“I have discredited my high office and the party that I love,” Cunningham wrote. “I have misled my family, friends, colleagues, staff and even myself.”

The inclusion of the phrase “even myself” made the resignation letter different from the statement he read tearfully outside the federal court house after his guilty plea. In that statement he admitted misleading others about the case.

In his plea agreement, Cunningham said he pushed defense projects on behalf of two co-conspirators, in part, because he had received “payments and benefits” and not because the projects were in the best interest of the United States.

Cunningham faces 10 years in prison and a $350,000 fine when he is sentenced Feb. 27.

A special election will be held to fill the vacant seat in the 50th Congressional District in an affluent suburban district north of San Diego. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has another week to set the date for the vote.

Along with the furnishings, the federal government has also seized the 8,000-square-foot home in Rancho Santa Fe. Cunningham bought the home after military contractor Mitchell Wade bought his former house in Del Mar Heights for an inflated price. The proceeds from the auction of the furnishings will be split between the IRS, FBI, and Defense Criminal Investigative Service.

Not all the furnishings from the Rancho Santa Fe home were seized. Some things in the house are owned by Cunningham and his wife, Nancy, and were not part of the bribery case, officials said.

Judging from the items on display, the Cunninghams’ taste ran to classic period pieces, some original, some reproductions -- in oak, cherry, walnut, and maple. McPheeters said he was impressed.

Journalists pawing through the items learned something. The 19th century French commode, listed in the plea agreement, is not a toilet but rather a chest of drawers.

As the federal government prepared to sell off the furnishings that were part of his bribery scheme, Cunningham’s former colleagues were trying to make sense of his fall as they returned from the Thanksgiving recess.

Rep. Jerry Lewis (R-Redlands), chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, said he was “just seething” at Cunningham’s behavior.

“I can’t remember a time I’ve been more angry,” Lewis said. “I don’t know anybody around here who wasn’t just amazed.”

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Times staff writer Richard Simon contributed to this report.