Foggo pleads guilty in Cunningham case

Fallout from former Rep. Randy "Duke: Cunningham’s (R-Calif.) bribery case is still unfolding. 

Kyle Dustin “Dusty” Foggo, who held the No. 3 position at the CIA between 2004 and 2006, pleaded guilty Monday to defrauding the U.S. government and using his influence to steer agency intelligence contracts to the company run by his friend, Brent Wilkes.

{mosads}Foggo pleaded guilty Monday in an Alexandria, Va., courtroom. He resigned in 2006 as the CIA’s executive director and was later charged in Cunningham’s bribery case along with Wilkes. Wilkes was convicted in the case and is serving 12 years in prison for his involvement. Foggo faces a maximum of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

“Foggo admitted that he allowed Wilkes to conceal their close relationship by adopting false cover stories regarding their relationship and using ‘straw men’ and shell companies to conceal Wilkes’s interest in CIA contracts,” a Department of Justice statement said.  “As described in the indictment, Foggo caused the CIA to enter into these lucrative contracts without disclosing his interests.”

Foggo and Wilkes have been friends since their college days at San Diego State University. Sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 8, 2009.

Through the scheme, Foggo had a standing offer for a “high-level, high-paying position” with Wilkes’s firm, according to the Justice statement.