Source from ABC News
Only in America:
Prosecutors call it a corruption case with no parallel in the long history of the U.S. Congress. And it keeps getting worse. Convicted Rep. Randall "Duke" Cunningham actually priced the illegal services he provided.
Prices came in the form of a "bribe menu" that detailed how much it would cost contractors to essentially order multimillion-dollar government contracts, according to documents submitted by federal prosecutors for Cunningham's sentencing hearing this Friday.
"The length, breadth and depth of Cunningham's crimes," the sentencing memorandum states, "are unprecedented for a sitting member of Congress."
Now corruption in politics and government is, by no means, some new practice that sprang up over night, but Cunningham certainly sets new heights!
The card shows an escalating scale for bribes, starting at $140,000 and a luxury yacht for a $16 million Defense Department contract. Each additional $1 million in contract value required a $50,000 bribe.
The rate dropped to $25,000 per additional million once the contract went above $20 million.
At one point Cunningham was living on a yacht named after him, "The Dukester," docked near Capitol Hill, courtesy of a defense company president.
Now isn't that lovely? This joker was so busy accepting yachts, home, antiques, vehicles, and cash that I wonder if he could even be bothered to extend some of that wealth to help the people he was elected to represent. Yeah, I'm just kidding myself there.
"In my life, I have had great joy and great sorrow," Cunningham said after admitting his crimes. "And now I know great shame."
Really? I find that pill hard to swallow. It's funny how these guys "know great shame"--only after they're caught.
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