He subsequently joined Deloitte Haskins & Sells in their Washington D.C. practice office before leaving public accounting to become the president of a D.C. based real estate development company.
One of Wilkes's companies received more than $80 million in Pentagon contracts over the past decade that stemmed from earmarks that Cunningham slipped into spending bills.
"[1] In 2000, a report by the Pentagon's inspector general said of the company's biggest project, a $9.7 million contract to convert documents in Panama, that the program was created under pressure from two congressmen.
Pentagon procurement officials identified the two as Cunningham and Duncan Hunter (R-Calif), chairman of the Armed Services Committee, to whom Wilkes had also donated heavily.
The company completed and delivered a signal processing algorithm in a chip set to eliminate background noise in the helmets of the crews of the Light Armored Vehicle (LAV) and the Abrams main battle tank.
In addition substantial progress had been made on an application which allowed ground penetrating radar to locate and identify improvised explosive devices (IED).
PerfectWave was connected to a lobbying scandal with republican congressmen Tom DeLay (R-Texas), John Doolittle (R-Calif.) and Devin Nunes.
Prosecutors want to hear from Wilkes about a contribution to a DeLay fundraising committee at the center of the investigation that led to indictments that pushed the GOP leader from office".
But the only evidence Doolittle's office could provide to show military support for the project was a letter of praise from Robert Lusardi, a program manager for light armored vehicles at the Marine Corps dated February 25 – two and a half years after PerfectWave got its first earmark.
According to the same anonymous source Wilkes hired Shirlington Limousine & Transportation Service of Virginia beginning in 1990 for entertainment at the Watergate Hotel.
According to these same reports in The Wall Street Journal and the San Diego Union-Tribune, prostitutes regularly accompanied guests at the suites.
Despite intensive investigations by federal agents involving interviews with hotel employees, escort services, prostitutes and all known participants in these poker games no evidence or testimony has been found to corroborate these anonymous allegations.
In addition, Wilkes was indicted on charges of conspiracy, bribery, money laundering and unlawful monetary transactions to Cunningham in return for government contracts.
[12] On November 5, 2007, Wilkes was convicted of 13 felonies for bribing former congressman Randy “Duke” Cunningham with expensive meals, trips, a yacht and mortgage payments for his Rancho Santa Fe mansion in exchange for lucrative government defense contracts.
Appellant has shown, by clear and convincing evidence, that appellant is not likely to flee or pose a danger to the safety of any other person or the community if released and has also shown that the appeal raises a "substantial question" of law or fact that is likely to result in reversal, an order for a new trial, or a sentence that does not include a term of imprisonment, on all counts on which imprisonment has been imposed.
In an August 2006 interview, Wilkes said he considered dropping the firm, but that Lowery threatened to block future projects if their relationship ended.
[21] Speaking on CNN, former Congressman Bob Barr (R-GA) suggested the corruption scandal as a possible reason behind CIA director Porter Goss's resignation.
[22] In May, the day after Goss' resignation, New York Daily News reported The investigations have focused on the Watergate poker parties thrown by defense contractor Brent Wilkes, a high-school buddy of Foggo's, that were attended by disgraced former Rep. Randy (Duke) Cunningham and other lawmakers.
Foggo has claimed he went to the parties "just for poker" amid allegations that Wilkes, a top GOP fund-raiser and a member of the $100,000 "Pioneers" of Bush's 2004 reelection campaign, provided prostitutes, limos and hotel suites to Cunningham....