|
The War Profiteers - War Crimes, Kidnappings,
Torture and Big Money |
|
May 9th, 2006 - CIA Official
Quits; FBI Probes Role in Defense Contracts |
|
CIA Official Quits; FBI
Probes Role in Defense Contracts By Dan Eggen and Charles R. Babcock Washington Post Staff Writers Tuesday, May 9, 2006; A03 The FBI is investigating
whether a top-ranking CIA official who announced his resignation yesterday
steered contracts to a boyhood friend at the center of a congressional
bribery scandal, law enforcement officials said. The investigation of CIA
Executive Director Kyle "Dusty" Foggo follows an ongoing
investigation by the agency's inspector general, which is examining whether
Foggo was involved in CIA contracts awarded to a firm owned by San Diego
defense contractor Brent R. Wilkes. In a brief e-mail to CIA
employees yesterday, Foggo said he is stepping down as executive director.
The e-mail did not say whether Foggo will leave the CIA, but people within
the agency familiar with his plans said he is expected to retire. The e-mail made no mention
of the inspector general's inquiry or Foggo's relationship with Wilkes,
officials said. Foggo could not be reached to comment. Foggo was appointed
executive director shortly after Porter J. Goss, who resigned Friday, became
director in fall 2004. Foggo and Wilkes have been friends since they went to
high school together. Wilkes has been named as a
co-conspirator in the corruption case against former congressman Randy
"Duke" Cunningham, who pleaded guilty last fall to taking $2.4
million in bribes from Wilkes and others in return for federal contracts.
Wilkes has not been charged. Wilkes's company, ADCS Inc.,
received more than $80 million in defense contracts, with Cunningham's help,
to help convert paper documents to computerized ones. The FBI recently began
examining whether Foggo improperly intervened to help Wilkes obtain some of
those contracts, according to two law enforcement officials, who spoke on the
condition of anonymity. The inquiry was reported yesterday by the Associated
Press. Foggo has said he has done
nothing improper, and the CIA has said the inspector general's review is
standard practice and not an indication of wrongdoing. Foggo's name surfaced in the
Cunningham case again last week after reports that FBI agents had questioned
a Washington limousine company's president about allegations that Wilkes
provided prostitutes to Cunningham and perhaps other lawmakers. The CIA
issued a statement last week in which Foggo acknowledged attending poker
parties with Wilkes but denied any improprieties. Some lawmakers have raised
questions in recent days about whether the limousine company, Shirlington
Limousine and Transportation Inc., was qualified to receive contracts from
the Department of Homeland Security. Wilkes's attorney, Michael
Lipman, was out of the country and could not be reached to comment. Lawyers
for Wilkes and Christopher D. Baker, president of Shirlington Limousine, have
said their clients had no involvement in prostitution. Cunningham's lawyer,
K. Lee Blalack II, declined to comment. Staff writers Jo Becker and
Dafna Linzer contributed to this report. © 2006 The Washington Post
Company External link:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/05/08/AR2006050801615.html |