Schwarzenegger has ties to Cunningham crony
If anything, I wish the web of GOP corruption would start unravelling a little more quickly. We wouldn't want to risk voters suffering from "corruption fatigue."
SACRAMENTO — A businessman tied to the bribery scandal involving former Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham donated more than $70,000 to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's campaign committees and received two gubernatorial appointments.
At Schwarzenegger's behest, Brent Wilkes, founder of the government contractor ADCS Inc., resigned Nov. 29 from the Del Mar Fair Board and from another panel that oversees the leasing of state land for racetracks, said Margita Thompson, the governor's press secretary.
Schwarzenegger appointed Wilkes to the Del Mar board in April 2004 and to the State Race Track Leasing Commission last April. A seat on the Del Mar board is a sought-after post given the panel's association with the Del Mar racetrack, among the most successful tracks in the nation.
Starting with the 2003 recall campaign, Wilkes, his wife and his companies have given $73,000 to Schwarzenegger's campaign committees, according to filings with Secretary of State Bruce McPherson. One of Wilkes' business associates gave $15,000 to the governor's 2003 campaign. (. . .)
One day before Wilkes quit the state posts, Cunningham, a Republican from Rancho Santa Fe, pleaded guilty to federal charges that he took $2.4 million in bribes and evaded more than $1 million in taxes. He also resigned from the House of Representatives.
According to Cunningham's plea agreement, Wilkes gave him more than $635,000 in bribes. Wilkes is not named in the Cunningham indictment or in the written plea agreement, but he is referred to as one of four unnamed co-conspirators, one of Wilkes' attorneys has said. That lawyer, Michael Lipman, did not return phone calls Wednesday.
Attention, ladies and gentlemen: this could be your last chance to buy a Republican until after the 2006 elections.
SACRAMENTO — A businessman tied to the bribery scandal involving former Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham donated more than $70,000 to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's campaign committees and received two gubernatorial appointments.
At Schwarzenegger's behest, Brent Wilkes, founder of the government contractor ADCS Inc., resigned Nov. 29 from the Del Mar Fair Board and from another panel that oversees the leasing of state land for racetracks, said Margita Thompson, the governor's press secretary.
Schwarzenegger appointed Wilkes to the Del Mar board in April 2004 and to the State Race Track Leasing Commission last April. A seat on the Del Mar board is a sought-after post given the panel's association with the Del Mar racetrack, among the most successful tracks in the nation.
Starting with the 2003 recall campaign, Wilkes, his wife and his companies have given $73,000 to Schwarzenegger's campaign committees, according to filings with Secretary of State Bruce McPherson. One of Wilkes' business associates gave $15,000 to the governor's 2003 campaign. (. . .)
One day before Wilkes quit the state posts, Cunningham, a Republican from Rancho Santa Fe, pleaded guilty to federal charges that he took $2.4 million in bribes and evaded more than $1 million in taxes. He also resigned from the House of Representatives.
According to Cunningham's plea agreement, Wilkes gave him more than $635,000 in bribes. Wilkes is not named in the Cunningham indictment or in the written plea agreement, but he is referred to as one of four unnamed co-conspirators, one of Wilkes' attorneys has said. That lawyer, Michael Lipman, did not return phone calls Wednesday.
Attention, ladies and gentlemen: this could be your last chance to buy a Republican until after the 2006 elections.
posted by Matt Sandwich | 3:15 PM
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