Wilkes getting out of prison

[Robbien]

Source: NC Times

Brent Wilkes, the Poway man who was at the center of the corruption scandal that brought down former U.S. Rep Randy "Duke" Cunningham, is expected to leave federal prison today, his attorney said.

On Monday, a federal judge signed the order allowing Wilkes to leave prison on bail while he appeals his conviction for the bribery of the ex-North County Republican lawmaker. As of this morning, however, the 54-year-old remained behind bars at Terminal Island Federal Correctional Institution in Los Angeles County.

. . .

Wilkes is one of two defense contractors convicted of bribing Cunningham in exchange for lucrative contracts worth millions. The second contractor, Mitchell Wade, was sentenced last month to 2 1/2 years in prison for his guilty plea to bribery.

Cunningham, who represented North County's 50th Congressional District, is nearly three years into a more than eight-year sentence for his guilty pleas to charges of tax evasion and accepting bribes.

. . .

Prosecutors argued Wilkes bribed Cunningham with $636,000 in mortgage payments for the then-congressman's home and boat, as well as with lavish vacations and encounters with prostitutes. In return, prosecutors said, Cunningham steered more than $80 million in taxpayer-funded defense contracts to Wilkes' now-defunct firm, ADCS Inc.

Read more: http://www.northcountytimes.com/articles/2009/01/06/news/sandiego/ze342218212e8e1f28825753600689633.txt

[ismnotwasm]

1. Meanwhile

Someone, somewhere busted 20 years ago with a key of weed rots away in some skanky Federal prison.

Nice.

[acmavm]

2. Back in the 8early 80s (I am bad with time), anyway, a kid in Michigan or

Minnesota, or somewhere equally as uncivilized and backwards as where I live, got sent to prison for life for arranging a drug deal for an undercover cop. Now the thing about all this is the kid didn't do coke when he met up with this guy. He didn't even want to do it. The cop testified in court that yeah, he kept after the kid until he got him into cocaine. Then he had him get a deal with some guy and that's when everyone got busted. The cop even did coke with the kid.

The kid got life (so did the other guy). The cop got bupkis.

I have never understood this case. I do not understand it to this day. It all had something to do with trafficking laws and what the hell ever they could throw at this kid. Anyway the kicker was he was only 21 years old when all this shit happened and he went away.

OH! And a guy came in to apply for a job today and we got to talking (I talk to everyone that comes in and that pisses my boss off. She doesn't want 'those kind' people hanging around). Anywho, this guy had the paperwork for work release and I had to give my name and all that shit, anyway he told me he was trying to start his life over. I forget what he said his name was, but he had been in the pen for 30 years. A couple guys raped his sister and cousin and burnt them and let dogs chew on their vaginas, things like that. So this guy, he was 15 at the time, kills one of them. Now me, I say give that man a job. Not for what he did, but because of all the applicants that come in, and we get some doozies being down by the pen, statistically this guy is the safest person you could ever hire. He will never kill again. He will probably never committ another crime again if he gets a chance to turn his life around. I want this man to get a job. I sent him over to the CB plant too, but I doubt they'd hire him. But too bad. He was a nice, gentle-speaking man. And for having been in the pen for 30 years since he was 15, he was extremely well-spoken.

edit: To apologize for my rambling but damn, I do so want this man to get a job. And I want him to have a life.

Damn. And people like this walk. And bush** will walk. And Cheney will walk. And hell, Abramhof will get a presidential pardon probably. And DeLay will never see the inside of the courthouse while he's a defendent.

Damn.

[cascadiance]

3. K&R Just saw it also on TPM Muckraker...

http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/01/wilkes_expected_to_leave_prison_today_pending_appe.php