Brent Wilkes
Encyclopedia
Brent Roger Wilkes an American entrepreneur, defense contractor
, civic leader and philanthropist. Wilkes became well known for his involvement with the Duke Cunningham
defense contracting scandal and was indicted for his involvement in this scandal on February 13, 2007. He was indicted on new charges which superseded the previous ones on May 10, 2007. Wilkes was convicted on all 13 counts on November 5, 2007. On March 27, 2008 the Court of Appeals ordered him released on bail pending appeal finding in part "that the appeal raises a 'substantial question' of law or fact likely to result in reversal, a new trial or a sentence not including a term of prison". On January 6, 2009, after serving eleven months in federal custody, the last six months at Federal Correctional Institution, Terminal Island
, Wilkes was released, pending appeal.
, and graduated from San Diego State University
in 1977 with a Bachelor of Science degree in accounting and having completed his course work for an MBA with a concentration in Taxation. He then became a CPA while working for Arthur Andersen & Co., an international public accounting firm, in San Diego. He subsequently joined Deloitte Haskins & Sells in their Washington D.C. practice office before leaving public accounting to become the president of a D.C. based real estate development company. Later, he became consultant for a Southern California software company that was seeking federal contracts for converting paper documents to digital ones. He was George W. Bush
's finance co-chairman in California
, and also involved in Arnold Schwarzenegger
's campaign for governor. But it was as a federal contractor that he became involved with the Duke Cunningham
bribery scandal.
Wilkes was then living in Poway, California
.
In March 2010, Wilkes won a World Series of Poker event at Harrah’s Rincon Casino in Valley Center, CA. He pocketed $10,090 as the champ in the two-day Texas Hold ’Em tournament.
Sporting a beard and a new nickname, Brent "The Enigma" Wilkes now claims to be living in Coronado, CA.
put it, "Wilkes was an obscure California contractor and lobbyist until his name surfaced last year as one of two defense contractors alleged to have given Cunningham $2.4 million in cash and other benefits in return for Cunningham's steering government business their way. One of Wilkes's companies received more than $80 million in Pentagon
contracts over the past decade that stemmed from earmarks that Cunningham slipped into spending bills."
. Subsequently, the company began collecting more than $20 million a year in defense business."
In 2000, a report by the Pentagon's inspector general said of the company's biggest project, a $9.7 million contract to convert documents in Panama, that the program was created under pressure from two congressmen. Pentagon procurement officials identified the two as Cunningham and Duncan Hunter
(R-Calif), chairman of the Armed Services Committee
, to whom Wilkes had also donated heavily. The two senior Pentagon officials who initiated the investigation, Lou Kratz and Gary Jones, later confirmed that the project was initiated at the request of Pentagon project manager Anne Barnes and was a requirement of the Panama treaty accords. Neither Wilkes, his companies nor any congressman played a role in initiating this project which was an obligation of the U.S. under the treaty.
beginning in 1990 for entertainment at the Watergate Hotel. In 2005, the Department of Homeland Security granted Shirlington a $21 million contract. According to these same reports in the Wall Street Journal and the San Diego Union-Tribune, prostitutes regularly accompanied guests at the suites. Allegedly, admitted Cunningham briber Mitchell Wade
told prosecutors that Wilkes had set up a prostitution ring through Shirlington and would procure prostitutes for Cunningham on demand.Despite intensive investigations by federal agents involving interviews with hotel employees, escort services, prostitutes and all known participants in these poker games no evidence or testimony has been found to corroborate these anonymous allegations. Further, the alleged source of the allegations, Mitch Wade was not asked about these allegations during trial.
sentenced Cunningham to 100 months (eight years and four months) in prison, the longest ever given to a former member of Congress. The plea agreement mentioned four co-conspirators along with Cunningham: Wilkes, Mitchell Wade
; New York businessman Thomas Kontogiannis (whom United States Coast Guard
records show was involved in a questionable boat deal with Cunningham); and John T. Michael, Kontogiannis' nephew. The nephew is the owner of a New York-based mortgage company Coastal Capital Corp. Property records show the company made $1.15 million in real estate loans to Cunningham, two of which were used in the purchase of his Rancho Santa Fe mansion. Court records show that Wade paid off one of those loans.
On February 13, 2007, Wilkes and Foggo were indicted on ten charges of conspiracy. In addition, Wilkes was indicted on charges of conspiracy, bribery, money laundering and unlawful monetary transactions to Cunningham in return for government contracts.
On May 10, 2007, Wilkes, Foggo and Michael were indicted on new charges which superseded the previous indictments. Wilkes and Foggo were charged with thirty counts of fraud, conspiracy and money laundering. In addition Michael was added to the indictment against Wilkes for bribing Cunningham.
On November 5, 2007, Wilkes was convicted of 13 felonies for bribing former congressman Randy “Duke” Cunningham with expensive meals, trips, a yacht and mortgage payments for his Rancho Santa Fe mansion in exchange for lucrative government defense contracts.
On January 21, 2008, Federal Probation Officials recommended a 60 year sentence. Wilkes was scheduled to be sentenced on January 21, but that has been put off until February 19th at the request of his lawyer, Mark Geragos. In court papers, Geragos said he needed more time to analyze and challenge the report from the federal probation office, which he received January 15 – later than required under court rules.
On February 19, 2008, Wilkes was sentenced to 12 years in federal prison, a term much shorter than the sentence recommended by the prosecution.
On March 27, 2008 the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued an ORDER as follows: "Appellant's (Wilkes) motion for bail pending appeal is granted. Appellant has shown, by clear and convincing evidence, that appellant is not likely to flee or pose a danger to the safety of any other person or the community if released and has also shown that the appeal rasises a "substantial question" of law or fact that is likely to result in reversal, an order for a new trial, or a sentence that does not include a term of imprisonment, on all counts on which imprisonment has been imposed. The matter has been remanded to the district court for the limited purpose of establishing appropriate conditions of release."
, which was trying to perfect a way to delete background noise from radio communications and to improve the capability of ground penetrating radar to detect IED's. Wilkes owned a company called Group W Advisers, which sought government contracts and earmarks in defense appropriations bills.
, a lobby group run by Ed Buckham
, the former chief of staff and spiritual advisor to then-House Majority Leader Tom DeLay
, and Tony Rudy
, DeLay's former deputy chief of staff. (DeLay's wife, Christine, was working at the firm's office at the time. So was Representative John Doolittle
's wife, Julie.) Wilkes and his friends donated heavily to DeLay, Rep. Roy Blunt
(R-Mo.) and Doolittle (R-Calif.). For example, by mid-April 2002, Wilkes, his executives and ADCS had donated $45,000 to ARMPAC so one of their executives could play golf with DeLay, Federal Election Commission
records show.
Doolittle acknowledges steering money to PerfectWave but denies doing anything wrong. In a statement last month, he said his backing for PerfectWave was "based solely on the project's merits and the written support of the military.' But the only evidence Doolittle's office could provide to show military support for the project was a letter of praise from Robert Lusardi, a program manager for light armored vehicles at the Marine Corps dated February 25 – two and a half years after PerfectWave got its first earmark. By the time Lusardi wrote his letter, the company had received at least $37 million in earmarks."
was a partner from 1993 to 2006. Lowery was close friends with Congressman Jerry Lewis (R-CA)
.
Since 1993, Wilkes and his associates gave Lewis $88,000 in contributions; Lewis subsequently gave $56,000 of that to Habitat for Humanity. Wilkes paid Copeland Lowery at least $385,000 in fees; by 2005, the firm's fees had increased to $25,000 a month.
In January 1999, Lewis became chairman of the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee. In January 2005 he became chairman of the House Appropriations Committee.
In an August 2006 interview, Wilkes said he considered dropping the firm, but that Lowery threatened to block future projects if their relationship ended. Wilkes said Lowery had warned several times that doing so could prompt Lewis to cut off earmarks, saying, “You don’t want me telling those guys on the committee that you are moving on without me.” That meant, Wilkes said, "I’d be out of business."
In early 2006, Lewis has said that he barely knew Wilkes and that he did not remember seeing him in nearly a decade. But Wilkes says their relationship was closer than that. Ever since they went on a scuba-diving trip together in 1993, he said, Lewis had referred to him as his "diving buddy." They occasionally dined together or met at political functions, Wilkes said. At a Las Vegas fund-raiser in April 2005, Wilkes said, Lewis greeted him as "Brento" and hugged him as Wilkes surprised Lewis with $25,000 in campaign contributions.
, and whether Foggo helped Wilkes gain CIA contracts. By May, it was reported the FBI was also investigating. The reports were confirmed by a May 12, 2006, raid on his Vienna, Virginia
, home.
Foggo and Wilkes attended school together at Hilltop High School
in Chula Vista and San Diego State University
, served as best men in each other's weddings, named their sons after each other, and shared a wine locker at the Capital Grille in Washington D.C., a favorite lobbyists' retreat.
Speaking on CNN
, former Congressman Bob Barr
(R-GA) suggested the corruption scandal as a possible reason behind CIA director Porter Goss's resignation.
In May, the day after Goss' resignation, New York Daily News
reported
The allegations of prostitutes attending poker games hosted by Wilkes came from anonymous federal sources and have never been confirmed nor has the source of the rumors ever been identified. Shirlington Limousine filed suit against the Washington Post alleging libel for repeating the allegations that the company or its employees were somehow involved. Shirlington received a settlement of an undisclosed amount and a retraction of the allegation.
, R-Texas. Prosecutors want to hear from Wilkes about a contribution to a DeLay fundraising committee at the center of the investigation that led to indictments that pushed the GOP leader from office". Additionally, as noted above, Wilkes' company, Group W Advisers, hired the Alexander Strategy Group that employed DeLay's wife to lobby for acoustic technology for the Navy.
This was neither a criminal or civil complaint but rather an administrative action. The complaint was based on the alleged statement of a former employee who was purported to state that her contribution was reimbursed by someone at ADCS. The employee claims that she never made such a statement and that she was not reimbursed. There were no other allegation among the dozens of other contributions investigated.
Defense contractor
A defense contractor is a business organization or individual that provides products or services to a military department of a government. Products typically include military aircraft, ships, vehicles, weaponry, and electronic systems...
, civic leader and philanthropist. Wilkes became well known for his involvement with the Duke Cunningham
Duke Cunningham
Randall Harold Cunningham , usually known as Randy or Duke, is United States Navy veteran, convicted felon, and former Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from California's 50th Congressional District from 1991 to 2005.Cunningham resigned from the House on November 28,...
defense contracting scandal and was indicted for his involvement in this scandal on February 13, 2007. He was indicted on new charges which superseded the previous ones on May 10, 2007. Wilkes was convicted on all 13 counts on November 5, 2007. On March 27, 2008 the Court of Appeals ordered him released on bail pending appeal finding in part "that the appeal raises a 'substantial question' of law or fact likely to result in reversal, a new trial or a sentence not including a term of prison". On January 6, 2009, after serving eleven months in federal custody, the last six months at Federal Correctional Institution, Terminal Island
Federal Correctional Institution, Terminal Island
Federal Correctional Institution, Terminal Island is a low-security prison for men located on Reservation Point on Terminal Island and in San Pedro, Los Angeles. The other Federal prison in the Los Angeles area is the Metropolitan Detention Center in Downtown Los Angeles...
, Wilkes was released, pending appeal.
Personal and business
Wilkes grew up in a San Diego suburb, Chula VistaChula Vista, California
Chula Vista is the second largest city in the San Diego metropolitan area, the seventh largest city in Southern California, the fourteenth largest city in the State of California, and the seventy seventh largest city in the U.S....
, and graduated from San Diego State University
San Diego State University
San Diego State University , founded in 1897 as San Diego Normal School, is the largest and oldest higher education facility in the greater San Diego area , and is part of the California State University system...
in 1977 with a Bachelor of Science degree in accounting and having completed his course work for an MBA with a concentration in Taxation. He then became a CPA while working for Arthur Andersen & Co., an international public accounting firm, in San Diego. He subsequently joined Deloitte Haskins & Sells in their Washington D.C. practice office before leaving public accounting to become the president of a D.C. based real estate development company. Later, he became consultant for a Southern California software company that was seeking federal contracts for converting paper documents to digital ones. He was George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
's finance co-chairman in California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, and also involved in Arnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger is an Austrian-American former professional bodybuilder, actor, businessman, investor, and politician. Schwarzenegger served as the 38th Governor of California from 2003 until 2011....
's campaign for governor. But it was as a federal contractor that he became involved with the Duke Cunningham
Duke Cunningham
Randall Harold Cunningham , usually known as Randy or Duke, is United States Navy veteran, convicted felon, and former Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from California's 50th Congressional District from 1991 to 2005.Cunningham resigned from the House on November 28,...
bribery scandal.
Wilkes was then living in Poway, California
Poway, California
Poway is a city in San Diego County, California. Originally an unincorporated community in San Diego County, Poway officially became a city in December 1980. Even though Poway lies geographically in the middle of San Diego County, most consider its relative location as north county inland...
.
In March 2010, Wilkes won a World Series of Poker event at Harrah’s Rincon Casino in Valley Center, CA. He pocketed $10,090 as the champ in the two-day Texas Hold ’Em tournament.
Sporting a beard and a new nickname, Brent "The Enigma" Wilkes now claims to be living in Coronado, CA.
Involvement with the Cunningham Scandal
As The Washington PostThe Washington Post
The Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
put it, "Wilkes was an obscure California contractor and lobbyist until his name surfaced last year as one of two defense contractors alleged to have given Cunningham $2.4 million in cash and other benefits in return for Cunningham's steering government business their way. One of Wilkes's companies received more than $80 million in Pentagon
The Pentagon
The Pentagon is the headquarters of the United States Department of Defense, located in Arlington County, Virginia. As a symbol of the U.S. military, "the Pentagon" is often used metonymically to refer to the Department of Defense rather than the building itself.Designed by the American architect...
contracts over the past decade that stemmed from earmarks that Cunningham slipped into spending bills."
Benefits to Wilkes
In 1995 Wilkes started ADCS Inc., or "Automated Document Conversion Systems." With the help of many congressmen including Cunningham, he began winning contracts from the Pentagon. Wilkes got a $1 million Pentagon contract in 1997, which Cunningham proclaimed "an asset" to San Diego. In 1999, ADCS, Inc. was awarded a $9.7 million contract to convert documents related to the Panama Canal ZonePanama Canal Zone
The Panama Canal Zone was a unorganized U.S. territory located within the Republic of Panama, consisting of the Panama Canal and an area generally extending 5 miles on each side of the centerline, but excluding Panama City and Colón, which otherwise would have been partly within the limits of...
. Subsequently, the company began collecting more than $20 million a year in defense business."
In 2000, a report by the Pentagon's inspector general said of the company's biggest project, a $9.7 million contract to convert documents in Panama, that the program was created under pressure from two congressmen. Pentagon procurement officials identified the two as Cunningham and Duncan Hunter
Duncan Hunter
Duncan Lee Hunter is an American politician. He was a Republican member of the House of Representatives from California's 52nd, 45th and 42nd districts from 1981 to 2009....
(R-Calif), chairman of the Armed Services Committee
United States House Committee on Armed Services
thumb|United States House Committee on Armed Services emblemThe U.S. House Committee on Armed Services, commonly known as the House Armed Services Committee, is a standing committee of the United States House of Representatives...
, to whom Wilkes had also donated heavily. The two senior Pentagon officials who initiated the investigation, Lou Kratz and Gary Jones, later confirmed that the project was initiated at the request of Pentagon project manager Anne Barnes and was a requirement of the Panama treaty accords. Neither Wilkes, his companies nor any congressman played a role in initiating this project which was an obligation of the U.S. under the treaty.
Favors from Wilkes
The Wall Street Journal, citing an anonymous source reported that Wilkes rented hospitality suites at the Watergate Hotel and at the Westin Grand Hotel for Cunningham and other legislators and their guests. According to the same anonymous source Wilkes hired Shirlington Limousine & Transportation Service of VirginiaVirginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
beginning in 1990 for entertainment at the Watergate Hotel. In 2005, the Department of Homeland Security granted Shirlington a $21 million contract. According to these same reports in the Wall Street Journal and the San Diego Union-Tribune, prostitutes regularly accompanied guests at the suites. Allegedly, admitted Cunningham briber Mitchell Wade
Mitchell Wade
Mitchell J. Wade , is an American defense contractor implicated in the events that led to the 2005 resignation of U.S. Representative Randy "Duke" Cunningham....
told prosecutors that Wilkes had set up a prostitution ring through Shirlington and would procure prostitutes for Cunningham on demand.Despite intensive investigations by federal agents involving interviews with hotel employees, escort services, prostitutes and all known participants in these poker games no evidence or testimony has been found to corroborate these anonymous allegations. Further, the alleged source of the allegations, Mitch Wade was not asked about these allegations during trial.
Criminal proceedings
On November 28, 2005, Cunningham pled guilty, and on March 3, 2006, U.S. District Judge Larry Alan BurnsLarry Alan Burns
Larry Alan Burns is a United States federal judge on the United States District Court for the Southern District of California.-Early life and education:...
sentenced Cunningham to 100 months (eight years and four months) in prison, the longest ever given to a former member of Congress. The plea agreement mentioned four co-conspirators along with Cunningham: Wilkes, Mitchell Wade
Mitchell Wade
Mitchell J. Wade , is an American defense contractor implicated in the events that led to the 2005 resignation of U.S. Representative Randy "Duke" Cunningham....
; New York businessman Thomas Kontogiannis (whom United States Coast Guard
United States Coast Guard
The United States Coast Guard is a branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven U.S. uniformed services. The Coast Guard is a maritime, military, multi-mission service unique among the military branches for having a maritime law enforcement mission and a federal regulatory agency...
records show was involved in a questionable boat deal with Cunningham); and John T. Michael, Kontogiannis' nephew. The nephew is the owner of a New York-based mortgage company Coastal Capital Corp. Property records show the company made $1.15 million in real estate loans to Cunningham, two of which were used in the purchase of his Rancho Santa Fe mansion. Court records show that Wade paid off one of those loans.
On February 13, 2007, Wilkes and Foggo were indicted on ten charges of conspiracy. In addition, Wilkes was indicted on charges of conspiracy, bribery, money laundering and unlawful monetary transactions to Cunningham in return for government contracts.
On May 10, 2007, Wilkes, Foggo and Michael were indicted on new charges which superseded the previous indictments. Wilkes and Foggo were charged with thirty counts of fraud, conspiracy and money laundering. In addition Michael was added to the indictment against Wilkes for bribing Cunningham.
On November 5, 2007, Wilkes was convicted of 13 felonies for bribing former congressman Randy “Duke” Cunningham with expensive meals, trips, a yacht and mortgage payments for his Rancho Santa Fe mansion in exchange for lucrative government defense contracts.
On January 21, 2008, Federal Probation Officials recommended a 60 year sentence. Wilkes was scheduled to be sentenced on January 21, but that has been put off until February 19th at the request of his lawyer, Mark Geragos. In court papers, Geragos said he needed more time to analyze and challenge the report from the federal probation office, which he received January 15 – later than required under court rules.
On February 19, 2008, Wilkes was sentenced to 12 years in federal prison, a term much shorter than the sentence recommended by the prosecution.
On March 27, 2008 the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued an ORDER as follows: "Appellant's (Wilkes) motion for bail pending appeal is granted. Appellant has shown, by clear and convincing evidence, that appellant is not likely to flee or pose a danger to the safety of any other person or the community if released and has also shown that the appeal rasises a "substantial question" of law or fact that is likely to result in reversal, an order for a new trial, or a sentence that does not include a term of imprisonment, on all counts on which imprisonment has been imposed. The matter has been remanded to the district court for the limited purpose of establishing appropriate conditions of release."
PerfectWave involvement with other Congressmen
After the release of the Pentagon report which criticized ADCS, Wilkes and a business associate, Max Gelwix, established PerfectWave Technologies LLCPerfectWave Technologies, LLC
PerfectWave Technologies, LLC, based in Poway, California, was a government technology contractor notable for its development of leading edge signal processing technologies. Among the applications PerfectWave was completing at the time of its demise were several in the defense arena...
, which was trying to perfect a way to delete background noise from radio communications and to improve the capability of ground penetrating radar to detect IED's. Wilkes owned a company called Group W Advisers, which sought government contracts and earmarks in defense appropriations bills.
DeLay and Doolittle
Effective as of April 1, 2002, Group W Advisers hired the Alexander Strategy GroupAlexander Strategy Group
Alexander Strategy Group was an American lobbying firm involved in the K Street Project, founded by Ed Buckham and his wife Wendy. Buckham is a former chief of staff of House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, and the firm openly promoted its access to DeLay. Its chief lobbyist was Paul Behrends.In...
, a lobby group run by Ed Buckham
Ed Buckham
Edwin A. Buckham is a former congressional staffer and lobbyist, who presently is under investigation in various scandals surrounding high-profile lobbyist Jack Abramoff and former Congressman Tom DeLay...
, the former chief of staff and spiritual advisor to then-House Majority Leader Tom DeLay
Tom DeLay
Thomas Dale "Tom" DeLay is a former member of the United States House of Representatives, representing Texas's 22nd congressional district from 1984 until 2006. He was Republican Party House Majority Leader from 2003 to 2005, when he resigned because of criminal money laundering charges in...
, and Tony Rudy
Tony Rudy
Tony Charles Rudy , an American lobbyist and an associate of Jack Abramoff. After serving as a staffer in the office of U. S. Representative Tom DeLay from approximately 1995 to 2001, and rising to deputy chief of staff, Rudy joined "Team Abramoff" at Greenberg Traurig. Rudy was implicated in the...
, DeLay's former deputy chief of staff. (DeLay's wife, Christine, was working at the firm's office at the time. So was Representative John Doolittle
John Doolittle
John Taylor Doolittle , American politician, was a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from 1991 to 2009, representing . In the 109th Congress, he held a leadership role as the Deputy Whip for the Republican party in the House...
's wife, Julie.) Wilkes and his friends donated heavily to DeLay, Rep. Roy Blunt
Roy Blunt
Roy D. Blunt is the junior United States Senator from Missouri. He is a member of the Republican Party. His Senate seat was previously held by Republican Kit Bond, until his retirement....
(R-Mo.) and Doolittle (R-Calif.). For example, by mid-April 2002, Wilkes, his executives and ADCS had donated $45,000 to ARMPAC so one of their executives could play golf with DeLay, Federal Election Commission
Federal Election Commission
The Federal Election Commission is an independent regulatory agency that was founded in 1975 by the United States Congress to regulate the campaign finance legislation in the United States. It was created in a provision of the 1975 amendment to the Federal Election Campaign Act...
records show.
Doolittle acknowledges steering money to PerfectWave but denies doing anything wrong. In a statement last month, he said his backing for PerfectWave was "based solely on the project's merits and the written support of the military.' But the only evidence Doolittle's office could provide to show military support for the project was a letter of praise from Robert Lusardi, a program manager for light armored vehicles at the Marine Corps dated February 25 – two and a half years after PerfectWave got its first earmark. By the time Lusardi wrote his letter, the company had received at least $37 million in earmarks."
Representative Lewis
Wilkes also hired the lobbying firm of Copeland Lowery Jacquez Denton & White, where former U.S. Congressman Bill LoweryBill Lowery (US politician)
William David "Bill" Lowery was a Republican politician from California.Lowery was born in southeastern San Diego, California, USA, where he grew up. He attended San Diego State University....
was a partner from 1993 to 2006. Lowery was close friends with Congressman Jerry Lewis (R-CA)
Jerry Lewis (politician)
Charles Jeremy Lewis is the U.S. Representative for , and previously the 40th, 35th and 37th, serving since 2003. He is a member of the Republican Party. He is a former chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, serving in the role during the 109th Congress.-Early life, education, and...
.
Since 1993, Wilkes and his associates gave Lewis $88,000 in contributions; Lewis subsequently gave $56,000 of that to Habitat for Humanity. Wilkes paid Copeland Lowery at least $385,000 in fees; by 2005, the firm's fees had increased to $25,000 a month.
In January 1999, Lewis became chairman of the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee. In January 2005 he became chairman of the House Appropriations Committee.
In an August 2006 interview, Wilkes said he considered dropping the firm, but that Lowery threatened to block future projects if their relationship ended. Wilkes said Lowery had warned several times that doing so could prompt Lewis to cut off earmarks, saying, “You don’t want me telling those guys on the committee that you are moving on without me.” That meant, Wilkes said, "I’d be out of business."
In early 2006, Lewis has said that he barely knew Wilkes and that he did not remember seeing him in nearly a decade. But Wilkes says their relationship was closer than that. Ever since they went on a scuba-diving trip together in 1993, he said, Lewis had referred to him as his "diving buddy." They occasionally dined together or met at political functions, Wilkes said. At a Las Vegas fund-raiser in April 2005, Wilkes said, Lewis greeted him as "Brento" and hugged him as Wilkes surprised Lewis with $25,000 in campaign contributions.
Current status
Wilkes is free on bail pending appeal. There is no known investigation of Perfectwave or any other Wilkes related entity. The U.S. attorney ended its four year investigation of Congressman Doolittle in June 2010 finding no wrong doing. The U.S. attorney ended its five year investigation of Congressman Lewis in December 2010 finding no wrong doing.Involvement with the CIA
In March 2006 the CIA announced that it was investigating the connection between Wilkes and the agency's No. 3 official, Kyle "Dusty" FoggoKyle Foggo
Kyle Dustin "Dusty" Foggo , is a former American government intelligence officer convicted of honest services fraud in the awarding of a government contract and sentenced to 37 months in the federal prison at Pine Knot, Kentucky...
, and whether Foggo helped Wilkes gain CIA contracts. By May, it was reported the FBI was also investigating. The reports were confirmed by a May 12, 2006, raid on his Vienna, Virginia
Vienna, Virginia
Vienna is a town in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, it had a population of 15,687. Significantly more people live in zip codes with the Vienna postal addresses bordered approximately by Interstate 66 on the south, Interstate 495 on the east, Route 7 to...
, home.
Foggo and Wilkes attended school together at Hilltop High School
Hilltop High School
Hilltop Senior High is a four-year public high school located in Chula Vista, California and is part of the Sweetwater Union High School District . The school colors are kelly green, white, and black. The school mascot is the "Lancer"...
in Chula Vista and San Diego State University
San Diego State University
San Diego State University , founded in 1897 as San Diego Normal School, is the largest and oldest higher education facility in the greater San Diego area , and is part of the California State University system...
, served as best men in each other's weddings, named their sons after each other, and shared a wine locker at the Capital Grille in Washington D.C., a favorite lobbyists' retreat.
Speaking on CNN
CNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
, former Congressman Bob Barr
Bob Barr
Robert Laurence "Bob" Barr, Jr. is a former federal prosecutorand a former member of the United States House of Representatives. He represented Georgia's 7th congressional district as a Republican from 1995 to 2003. Barr attained national prominence as one of the leaders of the impeachment of...
(R-GA) suggested the corruption scandal as a possible reason behind CIA director Porter Goss's resignation.
In May, the day after Goss' resignation, New York Daily News
New York Daily News
The Daily News of New York City is the fourth most widely circulated daily newspaper in the United States with a daily circulation of 605,677, as of November 1, 2011....
reported
The investigations have focused on the Watergate poker parties thrown by defense contractor Brent Wilkes, a high-school buddy of Foggo's, that were attended by disgraced former Rep. Randy (Duke) Cunningham and other lawmakers.
Foggo has claimed he went to the parties "just for poker" amid allegations that Wilkes, a top GOP fund-raiser and a member of the $100,000 "Pioneers" of Bush's 2004 reelection campaign, provided prostitutes, limos and hotel suites to Cunningham....
Wilkes hosted regular parties for 15 years at the Watergate and Westin Grand Hotels for lawmakers and lobbyists. Intelligence sources said Goss has denied attending the parties as CIA director, but that left open whether he may have attended as a Republican congressman from Florida who was head of the House Intelligence Committee.
The allegations of prostitutes attending poker games hosted by Wilkes came from anonymous federal sources and have never been confirmed nor has the source of the rumors ever been identified. Shirlington Limousine filed suit against the Washington Post alleging libel for repeating the allegations that the company or its employees were somehow involved. Shirlington received a settlement of an undisclosed amount and a retraction of the allegation.
Connections to Tom DeLay money laundering case
AP reported that "Wilkes has been subpoenaed in the money-laundering case against former House Majority Leader Tom DeLayTom DeLay
Thomas Dale "Tom" DeLay is a former member of the United States House of Representatives, representing Texas's 22nd congressional district from 1984 until 2006. He was Republican Party House Majority Leader from 2003 to 2005, when he resigned because of criminal money laundering charges in...
, R-Texas. Prosecutors want to hear from Wilkes about a contribution to a DeLay fundraising committee at the center of the investigation that led to indictments that pushed the GOP leader from office". Additionally, as noted above, Wilkes' company, Group W Advisers, hired the Alexander Strategy Group that employed DeLay's wife to lobby for acoustic technology for the Navy.
Illegal contributions in Mayoral race
In November 2005, the California state's watchdog agency, the Fair Political Practices Commission, filed a complaint against Wilkes. The substance of the complaint is that Wilkes attempted to circumvent San Diego's limit on individual campaign contributions with "straw contributions" (i.e., reimbursing others for their contributions). The complaint noted that 22 of his employees as ADCS or relatives of his employees gave $250 each to the 2002 San Diego mayoral campaign of Ron Roberts. The complaint was not released until July 2006 after receiving a public-records act request.This was neither a criminal or civil complaint but rather an administrative action. The complaint was based on the alleged statement of a former employee who was purported to state that her contribution was reimbursed by someone at ADCS. The employee claims that she never made such a statement and that she was not reimbursed. There were no other allegation among the dozens of other contributions investigated.
External links
- Indictment of Brent Wilkes and Dusty Foggo, February 13, 2007.
- Indictment of Brent Wilkes and John Michael, February 13, 2007.