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The War Profiteers - War Crimes,
Kidnappings, Torture and Big Money |
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May 2nd,
2007 - Separate Trial, Transfer of Venue Sought for Ex-CIA Official |
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Separate Trial, Transfer of Venue
Sought for Ex-CIA Official By Kelly Thornton San Diego Union-Tribune May 2, 2007 Downtown San Diego – Lawyers
for former CIA official Kyle “Dusty” Foggo, who is charged in a corruption
case spun from the Randy “Duke” Cunningham bribery scandal, have asked a
judge to move his trial to Washington, D.C., and to allow him to be tried
separately from fellow defendant Brent Wilkes. In the request for a
transfer, filed in federal court this week, lawyers reasoned that the case is
centered mostly in the district that includes Washington, D.C., with most of
the alleged crimes occurring there. Foggo, his family, his lawyers, and most
potential witnesses for both the prosecution and defense reside there. As for the motion to create
two trials, the lawyers wrote that Foggo has been unfairly linked to the
Cunningham case in San Diego news reports. “Mr. Foggo is not charged
with bribery or with any conduct related to Mr. Cunningham and is not
implicated in any way to the often-reported 'debauchery' or 'prostitution'
acts described in the second indictment filed against Mr. Wilkes,” said the
court document written by lawyers Mark J. MacDougall and W. Randolph Teslik. A grand jury in San Diego
issued two indictments in February. One charges Wilkes and Foggo with
conspiracy, money laundering and honest services fraud. The government said
Foggo used his influence at the CIA to direct $1.7 million in business deals
to his best friend, Wilkes, who in turn lavished Foggo with gifts, expensive
dinners, trips to Scotland and Hawaii, and promises of high-paying future
employment, the government alleged. A second indictment charges
Wilkes, but not Foggo, with 25 counts of conspiracy, fraud, money laundering
and bribing a public official. The document details $700,000 in gifts Wilkes
allegedly bestowed on Cunningham, such as prostitution services and luxury
vacations, so the Rancho Santa Fe Republican would steer $100 million in
federal government contracts toward Wilkes' flagship company, Poway-based
ADCS Inc. Both men have pleaded not
guilty. Cunningham was sentenced to
more than eight years in prison last year after pleading guilty to conspiracy
and tax evasion. In his 2005 plea agreement, Cunningham said he took at least
$2.4 million in improper gifts in return for helping Wilkes and a one-time
associate, Mitchell Wade, gain defense contracts. Wade also pleaded guilty. Foggo's lawyers wrote in the
documents that a severance would serve the interests of justice. “The allegations against Mr.
Foggo do not pertain to Mr. Cunningham or Mr. Wade, both of whom have pled
guilty to multiple felonies,” the lawyers wrote. U.S. District Judge Larry
Burns is scheduled to hear arguments on these and other matters May 14. External link: http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/politics/20070502-9999-1m2foggo.html |