| Washington DC | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Duke buys the Kelly C. | |
| 1998 | Duke lives on the Kelly C. | |
| Apr 2002 | Duke buys a condo across the river. $350K. | |
| Aug 2002 | Mitchell Wade purchases 45ft Bouy Toy for $145K. Renames it Duke Stir by Jan 2003. | |
| late 2002 | Duke sells Kelly C to Thomas Kontogiannis for $627K. | |
| Mar 2004 | Duke sells condo. $500K. | |
| Apr 2004 | Duke moves onto the Duke Stir. | |
| mid June 2005 | Duke moves off the Duke Stir. | |
| San Diego CA | ||
|---|---|---|
| ( ? ) | ( Duke owns a nice house in Del Mar Heights, just north of San Diego. ) | |
| Nov 2003 | Duke sells Del Mar Heights house to Mitchell Wade for $1.675M. | |
| Dec 2003 | Duke buys Rancho Santa Fe house from Douglas Powanda, executive VP of Peregrine Systems, for $2.55M | |
| Jan 2004 | MZM lists Del Mar Heights house for sale. Asking price: $1.68M | |
| Oct 2004 | Del Mar Heights house sells for $975K. | |
| notable activities | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1998 | Duke uses congressional influence to earmark $3M to renovate the waterfront area of DC where the Kelly C is berthed. | |
| Oct 2000 | Duke faxes a letter to the Queens District Attorney warning that Thomas Kontogiannis may be the victim of a disgruntled political agenda. A copy is sent to the House Judiciary Committee. | |
| Nov 2000 | Kontogiannis is one of six people charged with siphoning off $3M intended for school computers in New York. | |
| early 2002 | SEC opens an enforcement investigation of Peregrine Systems. | |
| Oct 2002 | Thomas Kontogiannis pleads guilty to "scheming to defraud in the second degree". Two of his co-defendants admit receiving $925K in illegal gratuities including four phony mortgages. | |
| Oct 2004 | Federal grand jury indicts eight former executives of Peregrine Systems for conspiracy in a multi-billion dollar securities fraud scheme. | |
| new developments | ||
|---|---|---|
| mid June 2005 | FBI opens investigation into the relationships between Duke, Mitchell Wade, and MZM. | |
| July 1 2005 | FBI, IRS, and Defense Criminal Investigative Bureau agents raid the Rancho Santa Fe house in San Diego, MZM headquarters, Mitchell Wade's home, and the Duke Stir in Washington. | |
| July 14 2005 | Duke announces he won't seek a ninth term in the House of Representatives. "…I have acted honorably in the performance of my duties in Congress. This truth will be evident in time." | |
| July 15 2005 | The Duke Stir leaves Capital Yacht Club for undisclosed destination. | |
| mid July 2005 | The Cunninghams put the Rancho Santa Fe house on the market asking $3.5M. They plan to donate a portion of the proceeds to three charities. | |
| July 21 2005 | The US Attorney files a notice informing potential buyers of the Rancho Santa Fe house that the US government may have an interest in the property. | |
| Aug 11 2005 | Friends of Duke Cunningham campaign committee petitions the Federal Election Commission to authorize use of approximately $700K in campaign funds towards a projected $1M to $1.5M in legal expenses for the retiring congressman. | |
| Aug 16 2005 | FBI, IRS, and Defense Department agents raid the Poway, CA headquarters of defense contractor ADCS Inc, and the home of company president Brent Wilkes. ADCS (Automated Document Conversion Systems) does work on contracts approved by the House Defense Appropriations subcommittee. Duke is a member of that subcommittee. | |
| Aug 25 2005 | Federal prosecutors allege in court documents that Duke "demanded and received" a bribe. | |
| Sep 22 2005 | Federal agents searched Long Island office and home of Thomas Kontogiannis. FBI agents also spent the day at the offices of the marina where the Kelly C is docked "in an apparent effort to determine who actually owned the boat -- Kontogiannis or Cunningham". | |
| Sep 22 2005 | It was revealed today that Thomas Kontogiannis accompanied Duke on two trips by private jet to Saudi Arabia in 2004. Cunningham's expenses, more than $10,000 each trip, were paid by a Saudi-American businessman. | |
| Nov 28 2005 | Duke pleads guilty in Federal court to multiple conspiracy charges related to bribery of a public official, mail and wire fraud, and tax evasion. He then resigned his seat in Congress. | |
Thomas Kontogiannis is a New York real estate developer. In Oct, 2002 he pleaded guilty in a bid rigging scam involving computers for New York schools. His co-defendants received about $1M in cash, trips, houses, and phony loans.
He contacted Duke for help arranging a pardon for the fraud conviction. He purchased the Kelly C from Duke. (update: Duke wrote a letter to the Queens District Attorney on TK's behalf in 2000, before TK was charged.) Coastal Capital, a company owned by his nephew and daughter, provided financing for the Arlington condo and the Rancho Santa Fe house.
– chronology –
| date | amount | |
|---|---|---|
| Mar 2002 | $150,000 | loan (Coastal Capital) for Arlington condo |
| late 2002 | $627,000 | buy the Kelly C |
| late 2003 | $1,095,000 | loan (Coastal Capital) for Rancho Santa Fe |
| Mar 2005 | $500,000 | retire a 10% Rancho Santa Fe note |
Retired Navy officer Mitchell J Wade founded MZM in 1993 moving on from a program manager position in the Pentagon. In August of 2002 he bought a 42 foot boat, the Bouy Toy, renamed it Duke Stir.
MZM started to grow in late 2002 when it received a blanket purchase order from the Pentagon, good for $163M. (update: New work orders were cut off in June 2005.) MZM helps the government with "enigmatic problems".
In November of 2003 MZM bought the Del Mar house from Duke for $1.675M. Soon after, MZM put the Del Mar up for sale, listing it $1.68M and selling it in October, 2004 for $975K.
In April of 2004 Duke moved onto the Duke Stir, docked at Duke's slip at the Capital Yacht Club. MZM let Duke live on the boat in exchange for slip fees and maintenance.
Wade resigned as CEO of MZM and is trying to sell his interest in the company.
– chronology –
| date | amount | |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 2003 | $1,675,000 | MZM buys Del Mar house |
| Oct 2004 | $975,000 | MZM sells Del Mar house |
Joseph M Della Ratta was an officer of Della Ratta Inc, a construction firm, and Commercial Management Company, a real estate management firm. He was also a trustee of profit sharing plan associated with the two companies.
The profit sharing plan was terminated in 1999. In Dec of 2000 a law suit was filed by participants in the plan. The court issued a restraining order prohibited the trustees from further withdrawing assets of the plan.
In April 2002 Della Ratta sold an Arlington VA condominium to Duke. The condo is in a building overlooking the Potomac, just across the river from the Capital Yacht Club.
In July 2003 a federal court appointed an independent fidiciary to distribute the remaining assets of the profit sharing plan. JR and an associate were removed as trustees, ordered to restore $166,000 to the plan and were permanently barred from administering Employee Retirement Income Security Act plans.
| date | amount | |
|---|---|---|
| Apr 2002 | $350,000 | sells Eads Street condo to Duke. Coastal Capital provides a loan of $150,000 – the balance cash. |
1400 square feet with a view of the Potomac. Duke bought the Arlington condo in April of 2002 from Joseph M Della Ratta for $350,000. Sold it March 2004 for $500,000.
| date | amount | |
|---|---|---|
| Apr 2002 | $350,000 | Duke buys from Della Ratta. Coastal Capital provides a loan of $150,000. |
| Mar 2004 | $500,000 | Duke sells. The condo makes about half of what a US Congressman makes. |
4 bedrooms, 3.5 baths, a tiny view of the ocean from a second story loft. Mitchell Wade, through MZM, paid Duke $1,675,000 for the house in November 2003. Relisted the house in January 2004, sold it in October for $975,000.
The North County Times reports "In the months after the real estate transaction, MZM reported on its Web site that its revenues from Defense Department contracts had tripled."
| date | amount | |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 2003 | $1,675,000 | MZM needs a place to store secure communications equipment. |
| Jan 2004 | $1,680,000 | MZM lists the house for sale. |
| Oct 2004 | $975,000 | MZM sells the house. |
5 bedrooms, 7 baths, 7800 square feet sitting an a 3 acre lot with magnificient views in every direction. Duke bought the house from Douglas Powanda in December, 2003. Powanda's company, Peregrine Systems, was under investigation for fraud at the time. Powanda has since been indicted (October 2004).
$1.1M of the $2.55M purchase price was financed by Coastal Capital. In March 2005, Thomas Kontogiannis used a note on the Kelly C and $70,000 check from Duke to retire a $500,000 note at Coastal Capital.
Mid July, 2005, the Cunninghams listed the house for sale, asking $3.5M.
| date | amount | |
|---|---|---|
| Dec 2003 | $2,550,000 | Duke used the proceeds from the Del Mar house along with two loans from Coastal Capital, $595,000 at 6% and $500,000 at 10%. |
| Mar 2005 | $500,000 | Thomas Kontogiannis used a note on the Kelly C and $70,000 from Duke to retire the $500,000 note. |
| July 2005 | $3,500,000 | The Cunninghams list the house for sale. |
65 ft, 57 ton gross, 46 ton net displacement. Duke bought the Kelly C from a former congressman in 1997 for a reported $200,000. Duke lived on the Kelly C moored at the Capital Yacht Club from 1998 until he moved into the Arlington condo in 2002.
In late 2002 he sold the Kelly C to TK for $627,000 and personally delivered the boat to a marina on City Island, New York City. In spite of $100,000 work done on the boat, comments reported in June 2005 are not flattering. A worker said the twin engines are too small for the 65 ft boat, that she was not seaworthy, "basically a party barge".
In May, 2005, Duke re-registered the Kelly C in his name. (Kontogiannis tried to register the boat in his name but withdrew when the Coast Guard asked for proof of purchase. Kontogiannis claims to have a bill of sale showing the payment price as $1 plus other valuables.) In June Duke told the co-owner of Consolidated Yachts that he had nothing to do with the boat. 'I could get stuck with the damn thing,' said Wesly L Rodham Jr.
| date | amount | |
|---|---|---|
| 1997 | $200,000 | Duke buys the Kelly C from a former congressman. |
| late 2002 | $627,000 | Duke sells Kelly C to Thomas Kontogiannis. Terms included $30,000 cash, assuming payment on a $140,000 note, and an IOU for $425,000 at 3.5% |
42 ft, 34 ton gross, 27 ton net displacement. Built in 1987 by Carver Boat Company. Mitchell Wade bought the Bouy Toy in August of 2002 for $140,000. Renamed it Duke Stir by January 2003.
Duke lived on Duke Stir from April 2004 to June of 2005 paying maintenance and docking fees at the Capital Yacht Club. The Capital Yacht Club marina is easy walking distance from the US Capitol.
At the end of June 2005, Duke Stir was for sale by owner Mitchell Wade, asking $130,000. Duke was listed as contact for more information.
Mid July, 2005, the Duke Stir left the Capital Yacht Club for an undisclosed destination.
| date | amount | |
|---|---|---|
| Aug 2002 | $140,000 | Mitchell Wade buys the Bouy Toy. He renames it Duke Stir when registering with the Coast Guard. |
| June 2005 | $130,000 | Duke Stir put up for sale. Asking $130K. |