Defense Contractor Brent Wilkes Sentenced to 12 Years

By Alison St John / Reporter, KPBS Public Broadcasting

Published February 20, 2008 at 5:53 AM PST

This story was published more than 16 years ago.

A Federal Court Judge has handed down a 12-year sentence to former San Diego defense contractor Brent Wilkes. Wilkes was convicted on 14 counts for his role in the Randy Cunningham bribery scandal. KP

Defense Contractor Brent Wilkes Sentenced to 12 Years

(Photo: Defense Attorney Mark Garegos speaks to reporters after Wilkes' sentencing. Alison St John/KPBS)

A Federal Court Judge has handed down a 12 year sentence to former San Diego defense contractor Brent Wilkes. Wilkes was convicted on 14 counts for his role in the Randy Cunningham bribery scandal. KPBS reporter Alison St John has more.

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The sentence is just half the maximum of 24 years the prosecution wanted, but it is longer than the 8 years Cunningham is serving.

Judge Larry Burns said he did not believe Wilkes was the ring leader in the bribery scandal, but on the other hand he was particularly disturbed by Wilkes' lack of remorse.

A jury convicted Wilkes of paying hundreds of thousands of dollars to Cunningham in return for tens of millions in defense contracts.

The judge said Wilkes' massive profits were partly due to the government habitually paying too much to private contractors . But he said Wilkes compounded his own problems by not telling the truth.

He called Wilkes arrogant and manipulative and he denied him bail, saying Wilkes remains a financial threat to the community.

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Wilkes attorney says he will appeal that decision.

Alison St John KPBS News.

Alison St John

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Alison St John currently serves as a general assignment reporter and occasionally co-hosts KPBS Midday Edition. She fell in love with KPBS Radio when she arrived in San Diego in 1985 and first heard NPR. She has been a voice on KPBS Radio since 1989, and has served as a news reporter for radio, TV and the web, as well as anchoring, hosting, producing and editing. Alison has reported on stories about North County and was based in the KPBS' North County Bureau. Alison covered the metro beat during the critical period of the San Diego City pension crisis, and the education beat while Alan Bersin was the controversial Superintendent of San Diego City School District. She covered health when the industry was converting to managed care and told welfare reform stories in the late 1990s when Clinton was “ending welfare as we know it.” She has covered land use issues extensively, looking at the challenges of meeting a growing population while preserving community character, and developing a better transportation system to meet environmental concerns. She has done many stories on the military in San Diego, and the series she edited on the challenges veterans face returning from active duty to civilian life won “Best of Show” from the San Diego Society of Professional Journalists. She occasionally hosts the KPBS Roundtable and KPBS Midday Edition. Alison has won awards from the San Diego Press Club, the Society of Professional Journalists, the Associated Press TV and Radio Association, and the California Golden Mike Awards. Alison was born in Tanzania, brought up in Scotland, and earned her degree in psychology and sociology from Durham University in England. Her postgraduate diploma is in student counseling. She worked in England, Nigeria, Switzerland, Belgium, India, and Japan before moving to the United States in 1981. She now lives in Oceanside and enjoys how her community is growing and changing.