Under-Sealed

by emptywheel

Via TPMM, the SDUT reports that Thomas Kontogiannis pled guilty in the Cunningham scandal back in February, before Carol Lam left, and that his plea deal has just been unsealed.

A New York financier has admitted playing a key role in the scandal that brought down former Rep. Randy “Duke” Cunningham, according to a guilty plea unsealed this week.

Thomas Kontogiannis said he helped finance the purchase of Cunningham's $2.5 million house in Rancho Santa Fe, in a deal that evolved from two military contractors' alleged plans to bribe the congressman.

All of which begs the question--why was Kontogiannis' plea deal sealed and why has it been unsealed now? Presumably, his plea would be sealed to allow the prosecutors to work with Kontogiannis to pursue someone else and his plea would only be unsealed when the prosecutors moved up the chain.

In any case, let me review what we know.

There are actually two strands to the Cunningham scandal that have been pursued so far. The Foggo/Wilkes scandal, in which Foggo steered a CIA water contract and a air services contract to his childhood friend Foggo Wilkes [thanks for the correction, Larry]. Duke Cunningham and Mitchell Wade were only tangentially involved in this scandal (Foggo asked Wilkes if Cunningham could help a contractor get a work visa). This side of the scandal is the one that leads right into the CIA, since these contracts were CIA contracts.

The other strand is the one that got this started--and the one that Kontogiannis has been known to be involved in. Mitchell Wade was bribing the heck out of Duke Cunningham in exchange for some earmarks, most interestingly for his company MZM. This is the part of the scandal that involves Dick Cheney's office, and (since MZM was a contractor to both DOD's domestic spying program CIFA and to the Robb Silberman Commission looking into Iraq intelligence) some more nebulous intelligence issues. This is the part of the scandal that involves Wilkes in Cunningham's San Diego real estate scams; it also involves John Michael, Kontogiannis' nephew, for money laundering.

What has been unsealed doesn't add much to this part of the story: Kontogiannis bribed Cunningham by financing his condo and Rancho Santa Fe house and purchasing his boat at hugely inflated prices. The plea deal references other fraudulent mortgages Kontogiannis and Michael financed, including one transaction the proceeds of which they used to pay off part of Cunningham's Rancho Santa Fe mortgage until Wilkes paid his half of the purchase price on the house, but it doesn't provide much detail. And it also notes that Kontogiannis didn't deal with Wilkes before the 2004 deal on the Rancho Santa Fe house.

The unsealed documents leave it very unclear why Kontogiannis was bribing Cunningham--the plea says he did it "because he wanted to maintain his relationship with Cunningham, a powerful public official who could assist defendant in various ways." That statement tells us nothing about what Kontogiannis got in return.

So from what has been unsealed, my best guess as to why it was sealed in the first place was to develop further charges against John Michael, Kontogiannis' nephew. Michael got an extra charge tacked on in a superseding indictment in May (though it does not appear to be directly relevant to these other fraudulent mortgages), so perhaps that's it.

Only, if I'm reading the docket correctly, it appears that not everything was unsealed. Here's what's in the docket (case number is 3:07-cr-00423-LAB-1):

2/21/07: Sealed document modified on 6/12 (the day the rest of this was unsealed). [either this or the 2/23 document may be the motion to seal proceedings; if so, it will be unsealed on 6/22, when redacted transcripts are due to the court]

2/22-23/07: A bunch of entries relating to Kontogiannis' plea deal, all of them now modified pursuant to the unsealing.

2/23/07: A document modified by being sealed on 6/12.

2/27/07: Order to seal proceedings.

5/29/07: An order denying the government's request to continue sealing Kontogiannis' guilty plea.

6/11 and 6/13/07: Entries relating to scheduling. Of note, Judge Burns rescheduled Kontogiannis' sentencing from June 25, 2007 to November 26, 2007. The Michael/Wilkes trial is currently set for 9/18/07, and the Wilkes/Foggo trial is currently set for 10/23/07, so the judge is holding off on sentencing Kontogiannis until after both trials.

Now, it appears that all of this sealing and unsealing activity relates, at least in part, to the role that Kontogiannis will have as witness in one or both trials. But there are those two other sealed documents (again, one of which may be the motion to seal). So we may not have everything.

One more note. Consider the timing on this. Kontogiannis signed the plea deal on February 9--several days before Lam notified Main DOJ on February 13 she was going to indict Wilkes and Foggo. But that first sealed document was filed after Lam left.

Comments

[bmaz]

Cooperation agreement? I don't know; I will try to think through this better when i have some time later today. The mention of the Silberman/Robb Commission struck me, and I should have thought of this earlier. Silberman has been an official fact finder on issues critical and germane to the overall facts behind the Plame investigation. This is much more than the appearance of impropriety, well known right winger, friend of Cheney/Libby type of arguments. His role in silberman/Robb makes him inherently, and directly, conflicted and it would be contrary to the judicial canons of ethics for him to sit on a Libby appellate panel.

[emptywheel]

The SDUT says this:

But because he is cooperating with federal officials, it is unlikely he will receive the maximum punishment.

But there is no mention of cooperation in the plea deal. Still, given the sentencing date, you'd have to figure they're counting on K as a witness, no?

[randiego]

EW, I know you think that the whole Poway connection is delicious...

[LarryInCincy]

EW,

Should this line "Foggo steered a CIA water contract and a air services contract to his childhood friend Foggo."
read
"Foggo steered a CIA water contract and a air services contract to his childhood friend Wilkes."?

[emptywheel]

Yes indeed, Larry--thanks.

[bmaz]

There are many forms of cooperation agreements, it need not necessarily be spelled out in a plea agreement, nor for that matter in any formal court document.

[Maeme]

Marcy:

You need to read Laura Rosen's pieces on Kontogiannis - the connection is airplanes --

Also, there is a connection with Foggo - when Cheney ran the Defense Department -- all ties in with Herbert Walker Bush -41,
Nicaragua (sp.?) and Iran-Contra -- and drug smuggling -- read some of MadCowProductions -- and Wayne Madsen --

Foggo has a long history -- of questionable activities --ties with Portor Goss -- and his sudden resignation???

The web of deceit and lines of corruption go way back.

[Thomas Georgoupolis]

I found this at TPMmuckraker Notice how this comment by Dawn (she says they were trying to kill her)( I like how she admits a preference for "good performance")(would most women admit to the obvious???)brings Michael Hayden & the Russian mob onboard the S.S. Duke Cunningham &&&& Abramoff TOOO.... http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/004704.php.... Scroll down to the comments. How does this all fit into 911 ?? ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Here is the "smoking" comment:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: "Dawn wrote on November 15, 2007 12:35 PM:

I am a person who routinely attended police charity events (had family organizing many of them--family duty to show my face and be an ornament) where Kerik was expected to attend and unlike Kelly, did attend all the events treating all charities equally with regard to merit. When Police Commissioners attend, the turn-out is far better! The charities serve useful purposes from providing scholarships (merit based) since NYPD's pay has much to be desired, to enabling the PD to streamline procurement by going outside the PD to raise funds for emergency needs. An example of the latter was after 911 NYPD felt it needed portable radiation detectors. The only way the force could learn if they worked was by buying them. This need wasn't envisioned prior to 911, so wasn't in the PD's budget right after 911. The only way to raise the money quickly for the acquisition was for one of the charities to step-up and hold an event to raise it.

I never talked much with Kerik at the events I attended, but he usually was within earshot of me at these events and most of his time was spent working at the events...troubleshooting problems that kept arising. Officers were always coming-up to him at the events whispering into his ear of the latest management dilemna. He was a very hands-on PC; I had several others to compare him to on an interpersonal level over the years, and rated his performance as excellent.

My employer, its CEO and I are caught-up in the Cunningham and Abramoff probes as victims. Both these probes have the Russian mafia as an underlying common thread. Ridge is more connected to the Cunningham probe than Abramoff probe. I was head of government operations for the company at the time Kerik was PC. My audience back then was Uncle Sam, not the Big Apple so I never once discussed the company and its products with Kerik.

General Hayden's (then head of NSA) explanations of why Tom Ridge was pushed from office pertained to my employer and decision we made to become ex-pat (another democracy) days before Ridge was "pushed overboard." Kerik of course, initially was put forth as Ridge's replacement. Almost 4 years ago a contract was taken-out on me--probably because I was the only management team member with money to infuse into the company so its doors would stay open, by the Russian mafia with one of the Italian mob organized crime units in the US that tried to kill me three times between NYC and Rockville, MD in a span of approximately 4 months. For multiple reasons I am pretty sure the contract remains in effect, but my lifestyle changed and no longer am I an easy target.

There is much irony that Kerik, a person who wasn't a stranger to me but was a person I never once discussed my employer with, originally was nominated by the adminstration to undo Ridge's damage with my employer to lure us back home to the US, also had the possible same mob connections that at the time were trying to kill me! There could be far more drama in the Kerik story than any of us realize! In any case, it appears Kerik did wrong before and after he was PC, so this really has become a modern version of a Shakespearean Greek tragedy. He was one of NYC's best PCs ever! People are always focusing on his role when 911 happened, but I watched him in action up close and personal even before and found his performance to be excellent. (Safir was the other NYC PC I found to be excellent.)" End of Dawn's comment............ They have so much to hide and their power to keep the "tent" of secrecy inflated as a cover of the truth will end SOON!!! Well guyz, happy hunting Keep up the GOOD wurk!!! TG

[Thomas Georgoupolis]

Something wrong with the dating of posts!!! The above comment "I found this at TPMmuckraker.com..... WAS POSTED 04/28/08 NOT 06/16/07 as the board states....WTF is wrong here... is this NSA interference??? &&& maeme??? WTF is that???... I am Thomas Georgopoulis, NOT Maeme.... Again as I said,,Keep up the GOOD work && INVESTIGATE ALL CLAIMS, MINE && THE GOVERNMENTS!!!