Financier who laundered money for Duke Cunningham sentenced to 8+ years

[babylonsister]

Financier who laundered money for Cunningham sentenced


By Greg Moran
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER

6:01 p.m. May 16, 2008


SAN DIEGO – The contrition, tears and poor health of Thomas Kontogiannis were not enough to spare him a prison sentence of eight years and one month for his role laundering bribe money for former Rep. Randy “Duke” Cunningham.

On Friday, U.S. District Judge Larry Burns also fined the wealthy Long Island financier $1,050,000 – twice the value of the bribe that Kontogiannis laundered through fraudulent mortgages that allowed Cunningham to buy a $2.4 million mansion in Rancho Santa Fe.

Cunningham is serving an eight-year, four-month sentence in federal prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy and tax evasion. Brent Wilkes, a former defense contractor from Poway, was convicted of 13 charges of bribing Cunningham and was sentenced to 12 years, though he is appealing his convictions.

Kontogiannis, 59, pleaded guilty 15 months ago to a single charge of money laundering. The deal included a cap on his prison sentence of 10 years – a move that the prosecutor on the case, Assistant U.S. Attorney Jason Forge, admitted in court Friday was a mistake.

That is because after pleading guilty, Kontogiannis continued issuing millions of dollars in fraudulent mortgages and has continued to profit by them, Forge said.

more...

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/metro/20080516-1801-bn16tommyk.html

[aquart]

1. Notice how much more hard up the GOP is for cash, lately?

They don't have Duke funneling taxpayer money into fraudulent fake defense contracts that are then kicked back to the RNC, like they used to.

The world is just no fun for Republicans anymore.

[KharmaTrain]

2. I Wonder What Type Of Deal He Got...

The Abramoff scandal is far from over...just on a slow boil...and this is one of the reasons why. This trial took a long time because Kontogiannis invoked state secret about his dealings...thus another complication in this trial. I think he's also a big figure in the ongoing investigation of Jerry (Hay Laydee) Lewis and Doolittle. I'm curious if he'll now turn on his old buddies in hopes of spending less time in the grey bar hotel. Meanwhile Abramoff, I'm told continues to sing...and we could see those songs turn into bombshells in the months ahead.

[bluestateguy]

3. 1 less vote for John McCain!

nt

[lpbk2713]

4. Katherine Harris was part of his slush fund. When does she go to trial?

Answer: Certainly not before February 2009.

[L. Coyote]

5. REC. And the CBC saga continues ...... Welcome to the grey bar chorus, Tom!!

[L. Coyote]

6. Time to update the The Grand Ole Docket

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/grandolddocket.php

The Grand Ole Docket tracks trial dates, court appearances and sentencing hearings for players in the current array of national political scandals. But not just any crook can make it on the Docket - it's reserved for perps who are unambiguously under investigation (just a news report is not enough).
Be sure to check back periodically as the investigations continue.