|
The War Profiteers - War Crimes,
Kidnappings, Torture and Big Money |
|
May 14th,
2007 - Wilkes, CIA Official Arraigned on New Charges |
|
Wilkes, CIA Official
Arraigned on New Charges By William Finn Bennett North County Times May 14, 2007 11:25 PM PDT San Diego - Former Poway
defense contractor Brent Wilkes and the CIA's former No. 3 official were
arraigned in federal court Monday on multiple felony counts that include
conspiracy, fraud, bribery of a public official and money laundering. Both men pleaded not guilty
to the latest charges, as they did to original charges filed against them in
February. The first indictment charged the pair with 11 counts of the same
charges in connection with a $1.7 million water-supply contract Kyle
"Dusty" Foggo allegedly helped win for one of Wilkes' companies
while he was working as a logistics coordinator at a CIA supply hub overseas. "The new indictment
outlines a second scheme in which Foggo is suspected of providing Wilkes with
"sensitive, internal information related to our national security,"
including classified information, to help him prepare bids for providing undercover
flights for the CIA. The charges stemmed from the
same investigation that ended up sending former U.S. Rep. Randy
"Duke" Cunningham to prison for more than eight years, after he
pleaded guilty in late 2005 to taking more than $2.4 million in bribes some
of them allegedly from Wilkes. Under a separate February
indictment, Wilkes was also charged on multiple felony counts for his alleged
role in the Cunningham corruption scheme to steer tens of millions in
government contracts to two defense contractors. Prosecutors allege that
Wilkes bribed Cunningham with lavish vacations, money and evenings with
prostitutes to help him to secure those contracts. On Monday, federal Judge
Larry Alan Burns set the trial dates for both men. The case, in which Wilkes
is charged in connection with the Cunningham scandal, is scheduled to start
on Sept. 18 and is expected to take three weeks to complete. The Wilkes-Foggo case is
slated to begin on Oct. 23. Also on Monday, Burns
addressed several motions filed by defense lawyers in the two cases. Wilkes' attorney, Mark
Geragos, recently asked the court to open a full-scale investigation into who
leaked secret grand jury information to news media outlets. Days before the grand jury
issued indictments against Foggo, Wilkes, and another alleged co-conspirator
in the Cunningham case, newspapers ran stories citing anonymous sources who
said that indictments were close. Wilkes has alleged "outrageous"
conduct on the part of the government and has asked that the entire case
against his client be dismissed. In responding to the motion,
Burns said that he would not order the investigation, after assistant U.S.
Attorney Jason Forge told him that such an investigation has already begun.
Burns asked that the investigation be completed and a written report presented
to him "as soon as possible." Ý "This is a serious
breach of the rules," Burns said, adding that the person who leaked such
information to the media could be held in contempt of court. "Everyone associated
with the grand jury process knows that process is secret," Burns said. He also denied another
motion filed recently by Foggo's attorney requesting that Foggo's case be
separated from that of Wilkes and that it be tried on the East Coast. External link: http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2007/05/15/news/top_stories/41307165555.txt |