Saturday, April 20, 2024
HomeNewsWas San Diego US Attorney fired for knowing too much?

Was San Diego US Attorney fired for knowing too much?

060705fege01The Randy Cunningham "Hookergate" Scandal is not the first prostitution scandal involving close relatives of indicted defense contractor Brent Wilkes, The MadCowMorningNews has learned.

Brent Wilkes brother, Gregory Wilkes, managed the finances of The Wilkes Foundation, which was suspended by the State of California after failing to file financial statements for three years in a row.

(NOTE: The Wilkes Foundation link above, to the Wayback machine archived page on Gregory Wilkes, was removed less than 24 hours after this story was published. If only they worked this fast taking care of soldiers with traumatic brain injuries. DH)

When Greg Wilkes wasn't busy failing to file required documents with the state on his brother's charitable foundation, he was the Controller for an unfortunate "Bush Pioneer" named R.D. Hubbard, busted flying almost a dozen hookers by private jet in June of 2001 to a casino he owned to service men government documents have only identified as “48 wealthy guests.”

Back in the '80's Hubbard was involved in a number of Michael Milken-financed "greenmail" takeover attempts, partnered with Midland, Texas oilmen Wagner and Brown Ltd.

!!!wallyhilliardStrangely, in 2001 Wagner and Brown became the last known registered owner of the Lear jet which belonged to terror flight school owner Wally Hilliard until it was seized by DEA agents in Orlando who found 43 lbs. of heroin onboard.

Small world.

The woman who knew too much?

!!congress_prosecutorsIt is the latest in an odd series of links between the Cunningham Scandal and international drug trafficking.

Nonetheless this seemingly incidental detail may provide the context from which a better explanation might emerge for why Carol Lam, the U.S. attorney in San Diego who successfully prosecuted former Republican Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham, was just fired.

The nonsensical reason cited this week by a Bush Administration official was that “her prosecution rate for border violations was insufficient.”

raelian_20060827_daegu_korea1.sizedAny suggestion that “border violations” have become a priority of the Bush Administration has slightly less credibility than a press release from the Raelian Society announcing the imminent return of the “space brothers” from an extended tour of Sirius.  

 Since a close reading of the Cunningham Scandal’s dramatis personae reveals that its cast includes gambling czars, race-track boys, hookers, and more nephews than a years' worth of reruns on The Soprano’s, the discovery that hooker scandals run in Brent Wilkes family comes as no great surprise.

One plausible explanation why San Diego US Atty. Carol Lam was fired might be that, in a rapidly spreading scandal which could quickly grow too large to contain, she already knows too much.

Especially since the “Hookergate” Scandal already boasts that staple of major political scandals in America, the “statement later rendered inoperative.”

CIA spokesmodel Tells Really Big Fib

thumb-millerwiseIn this case it came from the CIA itself last May, when a spokesperson lied in a Wall Street Journal report headlined: “Foggo Partied, But Hooker Charges "False, Irresponsible,' CIA Says”

 "The CIA confirmed…what we knew already from multiple eyewitness accounts: Kyle "Dusty" Foggo, the CIA's #3 official, attended Wilkes' poker parties at hotel suites around Washington, D.C. where prostitutes allegedly entertained.

“But that's it, the agency says. He never saw any hookers — at least not while they were playing cards.

"'If he attended occasional card games with friends over the years, Mr. Foggo insists they were that and nothing more,' CIA spokeswoman Jennifer Millerwise-Dyck told the WSJ.”

“Mr. Foggo says he never witnessed any prostitutes at the games,” she said, and  any allegation to the contrary would be 'false outrageous and irresponsible.'"

What struck us about this statement is not its mendacity. That’s what spooks do. They lie.

No, we were struck by, well, Ms. Millerwise-Dyck herself, whose bio, as recounted in a story in Daily Kos revealed that while she'd previously been Dick Cheney’s spokesperson, and Porter Goss’ press secretary, she was known as Jennifer Millerwise.

Apparently she only became a “Dyck” after going to work at the CIA.

No names, just "48 wealthy guests"

belterra-casino-2006While Brent Wilkes motivation for hooking Cunningham and his cronies up with ladies of the night was knocking down defense contracts, whatever R.D. Hubbard was using prostitutes to troll for is a mystery.

On his Belterra gambling boat on the Ohio River, Hubbard used what government documents called “eight to 12 prostitutes brought in from California and Louisville” to entertain his “48 wealthy guests.

sdheroHubbard not only employed Brent Wilke’s brother; he was also a major contributor to The Wilkes Foundation as well as its Tribute to Heroes gala.

Of course, the Wilkes Foundation is not the only Republican-run "charity" raising eyebrows. The Sure Foundation, started by defense contractor Mitchell Wade, a former employee of Brent Wilkes, listed its address as Wade's defense contracting firm, MZM Inc.

And who can forget Jack Abramoff’s Capital Foundation, with gifts to children they never received? Or his American International Centre, grandly promoted as "bringing great minds together from all over the globe" under the "high-power directorship" of David Grosh, an Abramoff crony who turned out to be an under-powered lifeguard.

Everybody's gotta launder somewhere

1014965-187306Despite the fact that the Wilkes Foundation  hadn’t filed a financial statement since November of 2002, the State of California didn’t get around to suspending the charity until December of 2005.

When we asked a spokesman in the California Secretary of State’s Office whether a three-year grace period was the state norm regarding financial filings…the spokesman politely demurred, raising further suspicions about the philanthropic activities of this close-knit group of Republican movers and shakers.

Might they have been being used for money laundering?

!!nightConsider: Brent Wilkes was pimping in Hawaii to win defense contracts at roughly the same time his brother Greg can be presumed to have been juggling the books of Texas wheeler-dealer and Bush “Pioneer” Hubbard to remove the embarrassment of having a line item that read, "Private jet to fly hookers cross-country."

This sort of pattern of activity is occasionally known as a continuing criminal enterprise.

What's missing, at least so far, is any sense of whether Cunningham, Wilkes, Foggo, and Wade were conspiring to defraud the U.S. government of tens of millions of dollars just to satisfy their own selfish greed…

If not, then their efforts would have benefited a shadowy organization whose presence was being hidden from public view.

Rogue agents & a "few bad apples"

northmugAre there examples of this sort of "Enterprise" in America's recent history?

We think most would agree that the answer is "yes." So why are "the boys from San Diego" being written off as “rogue agents” and “a few bad apples?”

One place to look for evidence of a larger “Enterprise” is with the people and companies  where family members like Brent Wilke's brother Greg were at least ostensibly employed. There we find people whose names have not surfaced in the Cunningham scandal.

People like R.D. Hubbard.

Who is R.D. Hubbard, and what does his background tell us about the San Diego cabal?

Remember the '80's? Greenmail? Drexel Burnham Lambert? Michael Milken…junk bonds… The Predators Ball?

R.D. Hubbard got really rich in takeovers and greenmail, usually with the backing of Drexel Burnham Lambert. He and his Midland Texas oil buddies were players in the LBO takeover game.

Bush "Pioneers" score big

1101900226_400In his greenmail quests Hubbard often partnered with prominent Midland Texas independent oil operators Cyril Wagner Jr. and Jack E. Brown of Wagner & Brown.

Gencorp filed suit against Hubbard and Wagner and Brown, charging they were financing their proposed takeovers with illegal junk bonds.

When Hubbard and his oilmen buddies took his own firm AFG private, he moved the profitable specialty glass-maker's base of operations to his native Texas. Amid protest from share-holders, lawsuits accused the men of masterminding a scheme "to enrich themselves at the expense of the stockholders."

Hubbard’s takeover forays netted him big bucks: $25 million for his share of the "investment" in GenCorp stock and a similar stake in aerospace contractor Lear Siegler.

So when he attempted a takeover of Hollywood Park Race Track, board members had reason to doubt the motives behind Hubbard's commitment.

"Just look at his record. It speaks for itself," said one. "He ran down the value of AFG Industries and then took it private.”

In an uncharacteristically snide aside, The Orange County Register described him as “R.D. Hubbard, the Orange County businessman who has a knack for making money on losing takeover bids.”

Where are "Wilkes' Wenches?"

hookers9Public attention in the Cunningham Scandal remains riveted on its seamier side. So let's talk about the hookers… There are a few questions we haven’t heard asked about “Wilkes’ Wenches.”

Like…where the hell are they? Why haven’t they talked? Why no National Enquirer headlines:

“Now I Know Why They Call Him the Duke-ster!”

The hookers in Hawaii, the “escorts” at the Watergate… Have the party girls all disappeared down the same rabbit hole which swallowed Mark Foley?

Their invisibility seems more than a little odd.

Baby Sheik a tail feather

hookerswIn the case of “Hubbard’s Ho’s,” both they and their johns have remained anonymous. This includes, according to documents released later by the Indiana Gaming Commission, several "special individuals" among the group of hand-picked high rollers.

Who might these "special individuals" be at the R.D. Hubbard Invitational golf tournament?

Hubbard's transgression only came to light after two female employees of the casino filed a sexual harassment lawsuit. Apparently Hubbard's casino in Indiana had been transformed into Sodom and Gomorrah…

The prostitutes were openly groping and fondling the male guests during Tournament functions; they allowed the male guests to grope and fondle them. One removed her top during a party in Belterra's Celebrity Room.

The suit said the two women employees were ordered to kiss and pat male gamblers. They claimed the casino’s security director urged them to use sex to entice more gambling from the golfers.

Their complaint said the security director told them "that he wanted them in the casino kissing men,” and that he “told them they were to do 'whatever it takes' to bring more players into the casino.’”

"Whatever it takes."

"Interact more closely with customers"

Copy_of_pc-229The casino responded that the security director “may have said something to the effect that he wanted (the two women) to interact more closely with customers."

One of the two women stated she'd been told to attend the Keeneland horse sale in Lexington. While there, “She should go to popular bars to pick up rich Arab men to bring them to the casino.”

An AP story on August 5, 2002 headlined  “Indiana Gaming Commission flexes its muscles”  revealed that commission documents stipulated that about 48 high rollers from around the country were brought in to play the resort's new golf course and gamble at the riverboat casino on the Ohio River, and that eight or more "hookers" were flown to the Ohio River casino on a jet leased by Pinnacle.

"The guests and the women attended parties on two nights in the Celebrity Room, adjacent to a concert arena, that were so raucous that comedian Howie Mandel had to stop his concert.”

"I did not have sex with that woman"

!!howieHookers may be one thing, but thwarting Howie Mandel?

What kind of fiends are these people?  

Asked about the allegations of groping, fondling and breast-baring, Hubbard stated, "I never saw anything like that. I never saw anything that was inappropriate."

State gaming officials found otherwise. Hubbard's Pinnacle Entertainment was forced to pay three million dollars in fines.

It was the toughest sanction ever imposed by Indiana gaming regulators, reported the Sept 15 2002 Albuquerque Journal. It was a "far bigger penalty than any ever handed down in Nevada."

Hubbard was forced to resign as chairman of the corporation and agree to sell his stock. Pinnacle agreed that none of its directors or officers would have any business relationship with Bush Pioneer and friend of Brent Wilkes R.D. Hubbard.

Bribes, Booze, Booty…Busted.

semper-fi-300California Republican Congressman Randy "Duke" Cunningham traded military contracts for $2.4 million in antiques, cash, and, er… “booty.”

The title of two new books about the scandal both call him “History’s most corrupt Congressman.”

While its still not clear how a decorated Navy veteran in Vietnam became the most corrupt congressman in U.S. history, what is becoming is increasingly obvious is the story is bigger than just another crooked congressman taking bribes from just another crooked contractor.

Here's what we know for sure:

America’s top lawmakers, including one running for President of the United States, awarded their cronies tens of millions of dollars worth of defense contracts that did nothing to make this nation safer.

With a trillion dollar war going badly, Duncan Hunter and Randy Cunningham made sure Brent Wilkes got tens of millions of dollars to Xerox old maps of Panama.

Going to Babylon by Cadillac

!!!AJournalists have invoked the distant past in an attempt to describe the epic levels of debauchery, degradation and moral turpitude “rarely equaled since the pagan orgies of ancient Rome.

“What you're looking at is a world where money, secrecy, sex, and indulgence were all in play. Where everyone is guilty of something."

"What these revelations provide is a window into Babylon or the last stages of Rome," explained a source in a recent article in Vanity Fair.

“A window into Babylon.”

And Duke Cunningham is not even an obvious choice for “Elected official most likely to be "Packing a Party in his Pants.”

Despite the fact that we have cameras that can read the make of a golf ball from outer space, and lasers that can light up the moon, as a society we seem to be headed the other way…

"Boats beating against the current, back into the past.'

Daniel Hopsicker
Daniel Hopsickerhttp://www.madcowprod.com
Daniel Hopsicker is an investigative journalist and the author of two books on transnational crime, Welcome to Terrorland and Barry & the Boys.
RELATED ARTICLES

Most Popular

Daniel Hopsicker from 1998

Cancelled Book Orders

Keeping Mad Cow Alive

Recent Comments

Richard Yount on Keeping Mad Cow Alive
John Marden on The Wolves of Wall Street
josey carreiro on The Wolves of Wall Street
David A Howard on The Wolves of Wall Street
Chris Fogarty on BUT ME NO BUTTIGIEG’S
Chris Fogarty on BUT ME NO BUTTIGIEG’S
BThePrisoner on BUT ME NO BUTTIGIEG’S
Peruvian Marchingpowder on 140 Days After the Perfect Crime
Gayle Washburn on CONTAINER SHIP CRIME WAVE!
Chris Williams on Is JPMorgan the ultimate plug?
Teresa A Bacon on I Come Back with News
notjonathon on I Come Back with News
Philip Zozzaro on I Come Back with News
revtombrown on I Come Back with News
Bob In Portland on We Get Letters
riley on We Get Letters
David Koski on Jada & ‘the boys’
Mark Winchester Sr. on Jada & ‘the boys’
notjonathon on Jada & ‘the boys’
jo henrion on Jada & ‘the boys’
mike smith on Contact Us
Tim Landry on email
Florida on Oleg & Me
Jim Mayhew on Marc Harris Behind Bars
King Kangaroo on What is plagiarism?
King Kangaroo on What is plagiarism?
King Kangaroo on What is plagiarism?
King Kangaroo on What is plagiarism?
King Kangaroo on What is plagiarism?
King Kangaroo on What is plagiarism?
King Kangaroo on What is plagiarism?
Rob Macfarlane on What is plagiarism?
DEDSTIK on What is plagiarism?
King Kangaroo on What is plagiarism?
Kent Andrews on bushfellas
Neil Pearson on Contact Us
mat burk on Contact Us
John M Gretchko on Donald Trump, Banana Republican
Lamont Cranston on Donald Trump, Banana Republican
John M Gretchko on Donald Trump, Banana Republican
TIM SHERRILL on PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN
Deborah D Dulude on Tim Kaine’s Unlikely Biography
Deborah D Dulude on Tim Kaine’s Unlikely Biography
Anthony McArthur on Tim Kaine’s Unlikely Biography
Withheld for personal safety on 2016 election decides who controls the drug trade
Withheld for personal safety on 2016 election decides who controls the drug trade
Larry Brungardt on Marc Harris Behind Bars
Larry Brungardt on Marc Harris Behind Bars
Fed Hopsicker will delete this on THE STORY OF 9/11 IS A STORY ABOUT SAUDIS IN FLORIDA
Digitus Impudicus/Palmer Eldritch on Did Tom Cruise helicopter clip doomed ‘Mena’ plane?
george Archers on Jeb Bush’s 9/11 problem
Herr der Elf on Jeb Bush’s 9/11 problem
darkwhistle on Jeb Bush’s 9/11 problem
TheHolyCrow on Jeb Bush’s 9/11 problem
Ortaine Devian on Jeb Bush’s 9/11 problem
Ortaine Devian on Jeb Bush’s 9/11 problem
Wendy Painting, PhD on Archive
Etta Redinsfier on A Muckrakers Life, Interrupted
Ron, from australia on A Muckrakers Life, Interrupted
Christian Gains on A Muckrakers Life, Interrupted
Gary Sandritter on A Muckrakers Life, Interrupted
c coaler on “Hatto’s” List
Roger Mills on Archive
Doug Fisher on Archive
Chris Sapp on Archive
Trevor on 77
Mike on radaris
Lyle Grosjean on “I AM JULIAN ASSANGE!”
Thomas S. Bean on The Real American Desperadoes
Thomas S. Bean on The Real American Desperadoes
Thomas S. Bean on The Real American Desperadoes
Thomas S. Bean on The Real American Desperadoes
Thomas S. Bean on The Real American Desperadoes
Frank Di Bello on The Real American Desperadoes
California Granny on The Real American Desperadoes
ted rubinstein on The Real American Desperadoes
ted rubinstein on The Real American Desperadoes