Breaking: ‘Agents Swarm MZM Headquarters, Cunningham’s Rented Boat’
Breaking: ‘Agents Swarm MZM Headquarters, Cunningham’s Rented Boat’
The feds ratchet CunningScam up a notch — just in from Roll Call (sub req’d):
Federal agents on Friday searched the offices of a defense contractor tied to Rep. Duke Cunningham (R-Calif.) as well as the boat Cunningham lived on for more than a year, the latest sign of a growing investigation into the relationship between Cunningham and Mitchell Wade, founder of MZM Inc.
A federal task force that includes officials from the U.S. Attorney’s offices in both Washington, D.C, and San Diego, the FBI, Internal Revenue Service and Defense Criminal Investigative Service conducted the searches, according to Debbie Weierman, a spokeswoman for the FBI’s Washington office.
Weierman would not discuss details of the probe, although she confirmed that the FBI has “some operations that are going on today” related to the Cunningham investigation.
Update: Two other interesting graphs from the Roll Call story below. Apparently the Duke-Stir is now for sale, and Cunningham is listed as the contact on the flyers. Ouch.
Cunningham had been living until recently on a boat owned by Wade and berthed at the Capitol Yacht Club. On Friday, federal agents could be seen searching the “Duke-Stir.” They later hauled away several boxes of documents but declined to comment to Roll Call.
Federal agents also questioned employees of the yacht club about the rules covering residence on vessels there, according to a source close to the issue. Cunningham, who lived on Wade’s boat from April 2004 until two weeks ago, said he has paid more than $13,000 in monthly dock fees and maintenance costs during this period. The Duke-Stir has been put up for sale by Wade for more than $130,000, with Cunningham listed on flyers as the contact person for information about the boat.
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Any word on who’s driving this? It is not like our AG or Director of FBI is really enthusiastic about pursuing Republicans. If Duke was a Democrate then I could understand it.
July 1st, 2005 at 4:29 pmFrom Ohio to Texas to California, the GOP is giving corruption a bad name. I wonder if voters, especially those in the redstates, will wake up and do the right thing?
July 1st, 2005 at 4:44 pmWho knew corruption could get a Republican in trouble?
July 1st, 2005 at 4:45 pmJesus, way to overreact, FBI! It’s not like he burned a flag or anything.
July 1st, 2005 at 4:46 pmAh yes, more hijinks from Republicans friends of the flag.
Of course, for many of them, it’s the Confederate flag we’re talking about…
July 1st, 2005 at 4:54 pmIpinion–they will assuming the vote is not being fixed around the machines.
July 1st, 2005 at 5:07 pmHere’s who’s driving this — Tom Delay. I mean, what better way to distract the feds (and us peasants) from his own ethical problems than by pushing one of his “colleagues” off into the shark tank?
July 1st, 2005 at 5:09 pmWho cares what the FBI’s motive is…I say more power to them…investigating our corrupt political whores may get to be healthy habit if they keep this up…. and I for one am totally in favor of A-N-Y-T-H-I-N-G that will bring down these corrupt sob’s, every last one of them, repub and dem.
July 1st, 2005 at 5:24 pmGO FBI!!!!!!!
It MUST be Delay. After all, he IS the “Federal Gov’mint!”
July 1st, 2005 at 5:54 pmThe FBI will seize all the records pertaining to MZM, and make sure they are never seen again. The Duke is probably very grateful.
July 1st, 2005 at 6:09 pmWhen will the FBI raid the WhiteHouse to seize the corrupt b*****ds and all relevent documents? Now THAT would be progress.
July 1st, 2005 at 6:54 pmOr it could be Bush’s way of telling DeLay, Go quietly–or else!
July 1st, 2005 at 8:57 pmyou mean Fedal Govmint
July 1st, 2005 at 9:01 pmThis is just one more reason for the letter I sent to my Senators.
I was prompted by Senator Leahy to write to them to encourage them to be resistant to Bush’s next Supreme Court nominee.
This is what I wrote instead (and what I will be writing from this day foward):
“I’m tired of fighting the Bush Administrations poor judgements. We are wasting way too much time fighting over every comfirmation while nothing important like jobs, healthcare and the economy are being addressed. You did make time to give yourself a raise and still have done nothing to help families. You have upset many people by giving yourself a raise and I suspect both parties will lose support for this attrocity.
I have only one goal to solve the nations problems and that is to continue to support Ramsey Clark in his pursuit to IMPEACH GEORGE W. BUSH, DICK CHENEY AND DONALD RUMSFELD.
I urge you to use your energy to prove that Bush should be prosecuted for war crimes.
Thats all I’m interested in from now on. I will not donate money, sign petitions or support any candidate that does address impeachment.”
July 1st, 2005 at 10:17 pm$130k for a yacht? That you can live on? Sounds like a fire sale.
July 2nd, 2005 at 12:07 amIf this man is really this stupid, I almost feel sorry for him. But not quite.
July 2nd, 2005 at 12:27 amWhat picayune bullsh**. Let’s have our big brave FBI do a number on that faggot Gannon and his infiltration of the White House press corp., or the outing of Valorie Plame, or the “suicides” of 20 top microbiologists in the last year, or the pedophile ring from Franklin, Neb. that leads to the White House, or the pedophile ring that transports youngsters from Boy’s Town to the other pedophiles in the White House and the Bohemian Grove in California. Let’s see ‘em show us how great they are at uncovering the theft of our voting system by Diebold, investigate the chemtrails that spray us with micoplasma and bromide in every city in America, but spare me the em-bare-ass-ment of hearing about some diddly, scam artist with a big boat. BULLSHIT!!!!!
July 2nd, 2005 at 2:59 amMicroplasma and Bromide? Dude, you need a bromide
July 2nd, 2005 at 3:33 amIt’s fitting, don’t you think, that a staunch supporter of the PATRIOT Act and therefore theerosion of American’s civil rights would be subjected to a raid by the FBI?
July 2nd, 2005 at 4:08 amThe dead scientist count is up to 88 plus now.
July 2nd, 2005 at 5:51 amall this and Karl being possibly named….it’s going to be a good weekend !
July 2nd, 2005 at 8:12 amWilliam Borgstrom: You say that 20 top microbiologists “committed suicide” in the past two years–where can we read about that?
July 2nd, 2005 at 8:56 amThis page goes up to Jan. 05.
July 2nd, 2005 at 12:30 pmhttp://www.whatreallyhappened.com/deadbiologists.html
Susan, you are right impeachment is what should be demanded. I pray that the stage is being set.
Finding out that Karl Rove is the leak in the Plame case is a real gem. If they can prosecute him, they will defang the snake.
When they implicate Cheney in something, they will decapitate the snake.
When they impeach bush, they will have removed the anus.
I just wish Kerry would go away quietly too. I knew the Busheviks were traitors, I didn’t expect it of Kerry.
July 2nd, 2005 at 4:39 pmThis is sad to see. Randy “Duke” Cunningham was a Vietnam fighter ace, one of the few, who shot down their best pilot. I would hate to see him get caught up in a corruption scandal. I am also a Democrat, but let the government do their work and let’s not prejudge the man, okay?
I don’t support the war, and I don’t support the erosion of the Constitution, and I don’t support the trashing of the intelligence agencies because a few men were corrupted. I also don’t support pre-judging Randy Cunningham. The FBI will do their job, and it takes time. It may be two years, or it may be sooner, but wait before you judge.
I know that there are a lot of shady crooks in office now, but we can always vote them out – people just have to get motivated to vote and not act like a bunch of asses doing it. You turn away the moderates when you go overboard, and we lose to the radical right- which is why we are paying the price of infighting.
I don’t like the way we are headed, but I don’t want to jump form one extreme to another. I want peace in my life again, and the only way to get that is to take a steady and delibarate course toward Justice, not toward the polar extremes.
Just my opinion, YMMV.
July 2nd, 2005 at 5:25 pmThis is the guy that was outted as being ‘gay’ a while back if I recall. My guess is this situation has unexpected twists…
July 3rd, 2005 at 12:16 amThis is a comment to YMMV. I agree with everything you said, sir, but unfortunately, I don’t think the People can express themselves freely at the polls anymore. That is the unfortunate fact.
July 3rd, 2005 at 9:43 amTomorrow, when we hold up our American flag, and take pride that we were born in this country, we might remember what this flag used to stand for. What does our flag stand for?
It no longer stands for slavery, or overt bigotry in our own country, although it used to stand for that. But what does it stand for now? Does it now stand for the raping of the middle class, and a return for all of us to the peasant days of the Middle Ages. Yes. Does it stand in front of so many millions of sleepy headed apocalyptic proponents of Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson, etc.? Yes. Does it stand for Freedom for All, or does it stand for another big tax cut for Uncle Dick? You tell me.
What does our country stand for now? What, indeed. Does it stand for going around the world, invading every country which it suspects may have WMD, while proceeding to enhance its own store, and avoiding any confrontation with the country which has admitted to building nuclear weapons? How brave. What a brave land. The land of the Brave! Hold your flag up high, tomorrow. Does this country care that it sent thousands of its children into a land which had never, and could never have posed a threat to us? Now more than 1,700 are dead, a number which will continue to grow. Hold your flags up high, and wave madly! Madly, indeed.
July 3rd, 2005 at 10:22 amthe dukestir’s only crime is stupidity making his transgressions impossible to ignore. I’ll be impressed when the “frog march” rove out of the whitehouse
July 3rd, 2005 at 10:54 amI despise Rove and all that he stands for. Hang him. I’d be pleased. BUT, he is not the big stuff. Even the guy/gal who told Rove is not the big stuff. Bush is not except that he is the hier apparent of the Bush fascist crime family. Cheney is closer. Who are the corporatists who actually run this crap? Oil boys and military industrialists. They are the big stuff. The many-headed hydra. As I recall, the problem was cutting off all of the heads.
July 3rd, 2005 at 3:18 pmHang him…As I recall, the problem was cutting off all of the heads.
Comment by Richard Duff  July 3, 2005 @ 3:18 pm
You guys want to bring your enforcers over from Iraq to do your dirty work here? Hangings, beheadings. Tough talk in a political forum. How peaceful of you hippies, any day you think you are big enough in the britches, you just make the first move : )
As for Duke, unlike liberals, who’s motto is, “by any means necessary!” Everyone I know on the right says the same thing, if he’s found guilty, throw the book at him. nuff said.
July 3rd, 2005 at 6:23 pmYou guys want to bring your enforcers over from Iraq to do your dirty work here? Hangings, beheadings. Tough talk in a political forum. How peaceful of you hippies, any day you think you are big enough in the britches, you just make the first move : )
You won’t get combat pay that way. Leave Mom’s basement and enlist. That’s how you get it.
July 4th, 2005 at 9:57 amYeah, Buckshot/fake quit pretending that you are contributing to the war effort.
You sit on your duff and do nothing.
Get to Iraq already, you are a boring non-soldier.
Maybe you can enlist to handle the renditions, thats right up your alley.
July 5th, 2005 at 11:18 amMitchell Wade, founder of MZM Inc. and Randy Cunningham’s wife are on the same non-profit board. The two couples have been personal friends for years. Cunningham says he’s done nothing wrong in helping MZM get a leg up to get government contracts — just like he helps McDonnell-Douglas, IBM, etc. etc. But he’s not friends with the founders of those companies. Those companies already have long track records of providing the services they’re bidding for (good or bad I suppose).
July 6th, 2005 at 3:59 amBut WATCH FOR THIS ONE: The argument will be there’s no “quid pro quo” because he helped Wade get the contracts the year BEFORE he decided to sell his house. SURE Duke! Like nobody’s ever told a friend “Hey pal! I’ll help you with this one, but you owe me BIG TIME!
And a year later, MZM just happens to “need an office space” in San Diego when Duke wants to sell his house. So Wade looks at some comparables,put together by another friend of Duke, and says OK they look fine where do I sign. I went on the internet the other night and put in a description of the house I wanted in several neighborhoods in Duke’s home port. I got back several dozen listings and comparables. So it’s not like Wade couldn’t have done the same.
And Duke is living on Wade’s yacht in DC. But that’s OK — it’s a business deal; he’s paying rent. But the $13,000 is nowhere near what an apartment would cost. And guess what. The berth at the Capitol Yacht Club USED TO hold Duke’s yacht (which is in a dry-dock elsewhere for alleged repairs). So all he’s doing is paying his OWN berth rental and expenses while living on Wade’s yacht.
I wouldn’t take away Duke’s heroism in combat for anything. But in recent years, maybe the easy living (at taxpayer’s expense)has changed the way he does business.
With Tom DeLay as a role model, the “straight and narrow” has got to be a tough road to follow. And warming up would appear to be Rep. Bob Ney of Ohio. He’s got a dangerous job as an assistant majority whip in Congress.
As the editor of a smalltown online newspaper http://www.martinsvilledaily.com we are following this unfolding very closely. We were once touted the “sweatshirt capital of the world” holding the greatest textile production per capita anywhere… until NAFTA and CAFTA… and GATT… and all the others before us now… now we have the distinction of holding the highest unemployment in the state of Virginia. We are in Vigil Goode’s district… the other Representative and “partner in so-called crime” with the “Duke” and are wondering what will happen with our new MZM office and 30 employees… promised to be 150 by the end of this year. We put up $627,000 in incentive money to make Martinsville, VA look attractive to MZM and were pleased to learn of a $10 million dollar Foreign Supply Center to be located here. Our local Chamber of Commerce is flagging all our local business leaders to encourage our elected to “fix” the problem.
I’m interested in your comments regarding our plight….
July 11th, 2005 at 12:44 amMitchell Wade got caught. Plain & simple. But don’t believe for a minute that other government officials aren’t involved. A lot of the contracts MZM has are with the National Ground Intelligence Center, which is a U.S. army entity subordinate to the army’s Intelligence and Security Command (INSCOM). Incestuous relationships have blossomed in this relationship. Aside from the things you’ve read in the Washington Post, people should be aware that senior army officials in INSCOM have spouses employed by MZM. It’s true – check it out. All thse big companies pay off the very people that should be enforcing ethical government contracting.
July 26th, 2005 at 3:53 pmHerbal depression medication
November 24th, 2006 at 9:29 am