Contractor Plans Guilty Plea for Bribe-Case Role
Source: By Carol D. Leonnig and Charles R. Babcock, Washington Post, Friday, February 24, 2006
Washington defense contractor Mitchell J. Wade is expected to enter a guilty plea in federal court here this morning for his role in the bribery-related case involving former Rep. Randall "Duke" Cunningham (R-Calif.), according to sources familiar with the investigation. Wade, who founded District-based MZM Inc., started cooperating months ago in the inquiry of Cunningham's alleged trading of "earmarks" in congressional appropriations for $2.4 million in cash, furniture, boats and house payments, sources said. The probe began last June after the San Diego Union-Tribune reported that Wade bought Cunningham's San Diego home and then resold it months later for a $700,000 loss. A short time later, another newspaper reported that the congressman also was living rent-free on Wade's 42-foot yacht while in Washington.