Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
Available On Air Stations
Watch Live

Federal Jury Finds Wilkes Guilty on All Counts

A federal jury found a Poway defense contractor guilty today of plying former Congressman Randy "Duke" Cunningham with more than $600,000 dollars in bribes in exchange for millions of dollars in gover

Federal Jury Finds Wilkes Guilty on All Counts

A federal jury found a Poway defense contractor guilty today of plying former Congressman Randy "Duke" Cunningham with more than $600,000 dollars in bribes in exchange for millions of dollars in government contracts. Reporter Seth Hettena has more.

Brent Wilkes stoically absorbed the news as the jury pronounced him guilty on all the counts against him. Jurors deliberated for less than four days after prosecutors detailed the defendant's gifts to Cunningham. Those included countless meals, vacations, illicit cash payments and prostitutes hired by Wilkes during a Hawaii vacation.

Advertisement

The defendant insisted on the witness stand that he never bribed Cunningham. Defense attorney Mark Geragos says his client was bitterly disappointed. 

Geragos : I don't think that the prosecution ever, ever showed that he had the intent to do any of these things and I think that that's a major problem.

Wilkes faces up to 20 years when he's sentenced in January.

For KPBS News, I'm Seth Hettena.