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Cunningham may testify in Wilkes’s trial |
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By Susan Crabtree
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Posted: 10/02/07 07:26 PM [ET] |
Former Rep. Randy “Duke” Cunningham (R-Calif.) may provide some of the most powerful testimony against the businessman accused of bribing him, Brent Wilkes, as well as co-conspirator John Michael, both of whose trial begins Wednesday.
Cunningham is listed as one of more than 40 potential prosecution witnesses in a 28-page trial memorandum filed by federal prosecutors this week.
The former lawmaker, who is serving eight years in jail for tax evasion and taking more than $2.4 million in bribes, helped prosecutors prepare for trial, according to The Associated Press. In July he was transferred from an Arizona prison to the Metropolitan Correctional Center near San Diego’s Front Street federal courthouse.
Three former Cunningham staffers, all of whom served as his chief of staff at various times, also may be called to testify. Michael’s uncle, Thomas Kontogiannis, is listed as a potential witness for the prosecution.
The trial memo describes Kontogiannis and Michael as “professional money launderers.” Kontogiannis pleaded guilty to bribing Cunningham and is awaiting sentencing.
Mitchell Wade, who headed the now-defunct Washington defense firm MZM, may also make an appearance. He pleaded guilty last year to giving Cunningham more than $1 million in bribes that included the infamous Duke-Stir, the boat Cunningham lived on at a Washington marina.
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