[A href="vny!://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/n/a/2006/03/03/state/n145826S30.DTL"]Former Rep. Cunningham sentenced to 8 years, 4 months[/A] [FONT size=2][/FONT]
[FONT face=geneva,arial size=1]- By SETH HETTENA, Associated Press Writer
[/FONT][FONT face=geneva,arial size=-2]Friday, March 3, 2006
[/FONT](03-03) 15:12 PST SAN DIEGO, (AP) -- Former Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham, who collected $2.4 million in homes, yachts, antique furnishings and other bribes in a corruption scheme unmatched in the annals of Congress, was sentenced Friday to eight years and four months in prison.
Cunningham, who resigned from Congress in disgrace last year, was spared the 10-year maximum by U.S. District Judge Larry Burns.
"Your honor I have ripped my life to shreds due to my actions, my actions that I did to myself," Cunningham said to the judge before the sentence was announced.
Cunningham, 64, was ordered to pay $1.8 million in restitution for back taxes.
The defense had asked for a six-year term.
The judge credited Cunningham for his military service and for standing in front of courthouse in November and taking responsibility for his crimes and resigning from Congress.
Looking at Cunningham, the judge told him: "You weren't wet. You weren't cold. You weren't hungry and yet you did these things."
"I think what you've done is you've undermined the opportunity that honest politicians have to do a good job," the judge said. "The amount of money involved emasculates prior bribery crimes."
Cunningham pleaded guilty to accepting bribes from defense contractors and others in exchange for steering government contracts their way. They included a Rolls-Royce, a yacht, homes, travel, meals, Persian rugs valued at $40,000 each and various antique furnishings.
Among Cunningham's acquisitions was a 7,628-square-foot mansion in Rancho Santa Fe, one of America's wealthiest communities. The home was bought with the help of bribes from defense contractors.
Cunningham, a Republican, represented San Diego-area districts for 15 years.
The staggering scale of Cunningham's wrongdoing surpasses anything in the history of Congress, official Senate and House historians said in interviews. "In the sheer dollar amount, he is the most corrupt," said Deputy House Historian Fred W. Beuttler. "The scale of it is unprecedented."
Prior to Friday, the longest sentence imposed on a current or former member of Congress in the past four decades were the eight-year terms imposed on both Rep. Mario Biaggi, D-N.Y. and James Traficant, D-Ohio, according to court documents.
Prosecutors had asked for the 10-year maximum sentence possible under the plea agreement, saying the length, breadth and depth of Cunningham's crimes were unprecedented for a sitting member of Congress. Defense attorneys had asked for six years, arguing that given the former congressman's age and history of prostate cancer, a 10-year sentence "would likely be a death sentence."
Cunningham pleaded guilty Nov. 28 to charges of tax evasion and a conspiracy involving four others. Defense contractor Mitchell Wade pleaded guilty last month to plying Cunningham with more than $1 million in gifts over four years. The remaining three co-conspirators have been identified as Brent Wilkes, a San Diego defense contractor; New York businessman Thomas Kontogiannis; and John T. Michael, Kontogiannis' nephew.
In Congress, Cunningham pushed for stiff sentences on criminals. In 1995, the Republican congressman was an early sponsor of the "No Frills Prison Act" that had it passed would have ensured federal money went to state prisons where inmates were allowed porn, unmonitored phone calls or TVs and hot plates in their cells.
Democrats have sought political advantage from Cunningham's indictment along with the corruption scandal involving disgraced Republican lobbyist Jack Abramoff. They tapped Francine Busby, the Democratic candidate to replace Cunningham in an April 11 special election, to deliver the party's weekly radio address on Saturday.
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