The San Diego Union Tribune, without whom this would not have happened, is reporting that corrupt contractor Brent Wilkes was found guilty by a jury on 13 of 13 counts related to his bribery of imprisoned ex-Rep. Duke Cunningham. The story of Brent Wilkes is perhaps one of the more telling tales of political corruption for our time. Here is a man who set up a series of bogus companies, many which appeared to be nothing but a name with similar addresses, and received million dollar contracts for important work including the bottling of water for troops in Iraq and providing “commercial cover for CIA operations,” despite having no background in air cover. This is the story of the atmosphere of corruption, embodied by the wanton abandon to cash in on political connections, which must have permeated Congress in the late-90s and early-00s.

So far, what we refer to as the Duke Cunningham scandal has brought down one sitting member of Congress, Cunningham; three contractors, Wilkes, MZM head Mitchell Wade, and Robert Fromm, the former program manager at the Army’s National Ground Intelligence Center; and one international fraudster, Thomas Kontagiannis. K. Dusty Foggo, the former number three at the CIA, is set to face trial in a couple of weeks. That trial could be just as juicy as was the Wilkes trial. Foggo, of course, attended Wilkes’ hotel poker parties that may or may not have included escorts. Foggo also helped provide Wilkes with special access to confidential and top secret CIA materials. The Foggo storyline could be the most interesting part of this corruption drama. With the TV and Film writers on strike this could be the best entertainment this side of YouTube.