Officials close to seeking indictment in Wilkes case

By: North County Times Wire Services - | Wednesday, January 31, 2007 10:51 PM PST ∞

SAN DIEGO - Two federal officials say the U.S. attorney's office in San Diego is close to seeking an indictment against Poway defense contractor Brent Wilkes, who allegedly bribed Randy "Duke" Cunningham in return for millions of dollars in government contracts, it was reported today.

"I know we are so close," one of the officials told the North County Times.

The source, who has intimate knowledge of the case and spoke on condition of anonymity, said a preliminary draft indictment is under review by "many eyes on what is going to be proposed to the grand jury," the Times reported.

Another official who is with a different agency but is also familiar with the case said an indictment is "imminent," according to the Times.

Wilkes' attorney, Mark Geragos, said he had no knowledge of any impending indictment, the Times reported.

A San Diego federal grand jury has been considering evidence against Wilkes for more than a year. Wilkes was a longtime contributor to Cunningham's congressional campaigns and founded the firm ADCS in 1998.

Federal prosecutors have alleged that four co-conspirators, including Wilkes, lavished cash, loans and gifts on Cunningham in a complex $2.4 million bribery scheme to steer government business to defense contractors.

Cunningham, who pleaded guilty in November 2005 to bribery and tax evasion, was sentenced last year to eight years and four months in prison. He was transferred from a North Carolina prison earlier this month to a minimum security federal work camp outside Tucson, Ariz.

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