Thursday, April 20, 2006

Cunningham Briber Under Investigation in 2000

Brent Wilkes’ company, (ADCS Inc.) was under government scrutiny at about the same time that Wilkes began providing convicted Republican felon Randy “Duke” Cunningham bribes in return for contracts. Two Department of Defense probes into the company resulted in at least on referral of information to the U.S. Attorney’s office in San Diego. As there was no major newspaper coverage at the time, the U.S. Attorney's office didn't pursue ADCS, which was obviously the favorite of many local members of congress.

In one case, the Defense Department Inspector General was looking into over billing by ADCS. According to the North County Times:

The 2000 report discussed alleged overbillings by ADCS Inc., a defense firm that in 2005 became a focal point of the Cunningham bribery scandal, Gary Comerford, a spokesman for the Department of Defense Office of Inspector General, said Wednesday.

Defense Department investigators looked at equipment purchases that ADCS had made as part of a government contract, as well as a series of questionable billings, Comerford said.

In the other case, the Defense Department Inspector General was looking into the suspicious circumstances that led to a large ADCS’ contract for conversion of Panama Canal documents, a project that was not requested nor required by the Department of Defense.

In May 2000, the Department of Defense released the results of a 1999 audit of the company showing that two unnamed members of Congress had pressured Defense Department officials into awarding a multimillion-dollar contract.

The NC Times is being coy regarding naming the “unnamed.” The two congressmen were Randy Cunningham (in jail) and Duncan Hunter (CA-52).

In a related note, ADCS continues to be in arrears regarding property tax payments. The company owes the county $304, 000 in back taxes and penalties. Just two years ago, Brent Wilkes was paying Randy Cunningham hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes. Times change.