Mitchell J. Wade (born June 6, 1963) is an American

defense contractor The arms industry, also known as the arms trade, is a global industry which manufactures and sells weapons and military technology. It consists of a commercial industry involved in the research and development, engineering, production, and serv ...

implicated in the

events Event may refer to: Gatherings of people * Ceremony, an event of ritual significance, performed on a special occasion * Convention (meeting), a gathering of individuals engaged in some common interest * Event management, the organization of eve ...

that led to the 2005 resignation of

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

Randy "Duke" Cunningham Randall Harold "Duke" Cunningham (born December 8, 1941) is a former American politician, decorated Vietnam War veteran, fighter ace, and ex-felon. Cunningham served as a Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives from California's ...

. Wade founded the defense contracting firm MZM Inc. (since renamed Athena Innovative Solutions Inc.), in 1993. On February 24, 2006, he pleaded guilty to paying then Rep.

(R. Calif.) more than $1 million in bribes in exchange for millions more in government contracts. Wade was one of four co-conspirators mentioned in Cunningham's plea agreement of November 28, 2005. In addition to Wade, the three other co-conspirators are:

Brent R. Wilkes Brent Roger Wilkes (born May 21, 1954), is an American entrepreneur, defense contractor, civic leader. Wilkes became well known for his involvement with the Duke Cunningham defense contracting scandal and was indicted for his involvement in this s ...

, founder of San Diego-based ADCS Inc.; New York businessman Thomas Kontogiannis; and John T. Michael, Kontogiannis' nephew.

Personal life

Wade graduated from

American University The American University (AU or American) is a private federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C. Its main campus spans 90 acres (36 ha) on Ward Circle, mostly in the Spring Valley neighborhood of Northwest D.C. AU was charte ...

. He married Christiane D. Shipley on June 6, 1999. Shipley graduated from

Wake Forest University Wake Forest University is a private research university in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Founded in 1834, the university received its name from its original location in Wake Forest, north of Raleigh, North Carolina. The Reynolda Campus, the un ...

in 1990. Wade has three children from a previous marriage, Matthew, Zachary and Morgan, and two with Shipley. The Wades used to live in

Great Falls, Virginia Great Falls is a census-designated place (CDP) in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. The population as of the 2010 census was 15,427, an increase of 80.5% from the 2000 census. History Colonial farm settlements began to form in the area a ...

Career

Initially he worked as a bureaucrat at

The Pentagon The Pentagon is the headquarters building of the United States Department of Defense. It was constructed on an accelerated schedule during World War II. As a symbol of the U.S. military, the phrase ''The Pentagon'' is often used as a metony ...

, then formed his own defense-contracting firm MZM, Inc., which was later embroiled in scandal. Wade named MZM after his children: Matthew, Zachary and Morgan. Wade also served in the Naval Reserve.

Bribery scandal details

In June 2005, it was revealed that Wade had bought Cunningham's house in Del Mar, California for $1,675,000. A month later, Wade placed it back on the market where it remained unsold for eight months until the price was reduced to $975,000. Cunningham was a member of the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee and shortly after the purchase, Wade began to receive tens of millions of dollars' worth of defense and intelligence contracts. Later in June, it was further reported that the

yacht A yacht is a sailing or power vessel used for pleasure, cruising, or racing. There is no standard definition, though the term generally applies to vessels with a cabin intended for overnight use. To be termed a , as opposed to a , such a pleasu ...

that Cunningham lived on while he was in

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...

was owned by Wade, and that Cunningham was paying only for maintenance, not rent. The

Federal Bureau of Investigation The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, ...

launched an investigation regarding the real estate transaction. Cunningham's home, MZM's Corporate Offices and Wade's home were all simultaneously raided by a number of federal agencies with warrants on July 1, 2005. The money and favors provided to Cunningham were in exchange for helping win Pentagon work. Government procurement records show that MZM, which Wade started in 1993, did not report any revenue from prime contract awards until 2003, but starting in May 2002 they were awarded contracts in the tens of millions of dollars which then grew to well over $150 million. "Prosecutors also laid out a second, separate conspiracy in which Wade was alleged to have paid bribes to a Defense Department official and other employees in return for their help in awarding contracts to his company. Wade pleaded guilty to this scheme as well. The Pentagon employees were not named in court filings."

Other Members of Congress involved

Reuters reported

In violation of campaign-finance laws, Wade was found to have reimbursed employees at his company, MZM Inc., who made campaign contributions to two other members of Congress. Campaign-finance records show that those lawmakers were Virginia Republican Rep.
Virgil Goode Virgil Hamlin Goode Jr. (born October 17, 1946) is an American politician who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from 5th congressional district of Virginia between 1997 and 2009. He was initially a Democrat, but be ...
and Florida Republican Rep.
Katherine Harris Katherine Harris (born April 5, 1957) is a former American politician. A Republican, Harris served in the Florida Senate from 1994 to 1998, as Secretary of State of Florida from 1999 to 2002, and as a member of the United States House of Represe ...
. The charges indicate Wade did not inform either one that the contributions were unlawful. A spokeswoman for Harris, who as Florida's secretary of state played a key role in the 2000 disputed presidential election between
George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...
and
Al Gore Albert Arnold Gore Jr. (born March 31, 1948) is an American politician, businessman, and environmentalist who served as the 45th vice president of the United States from 1993 to 2001 under President Bill Clinton. Gore was the Democratic Part ...
, said she had given the $52,000 she received from MZM employees to charity. A spokesman for Goode was not immediately available for comment. According to the charges he received at least $46,000 in illegal contributions from MZM. MZM operates several facilities in Goode's south-central Virginia district, including one that conducts background checks on foreign-owned defense contractors.

The ''

Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'' reported: "The congressman identifiable as Goode received $46,000 in such disguised contributions in 2003 and 2005, the court papers said. That was part of about $90,000 Wade and his workers contributed to Goode. Wade then asked the member to request appropriations for an MZM facility in his district, the Wade papers said, and a Goode staff member confirmed to Wade that the bill would include $9 million in funding." The paper also noted: "The member identifiable as Harris received $32,000 in illegal donations from Wade and his employees in 2004. Documents filed with Wade's plea say that he took Harris to dinner early last year, where they discussed the possibility of another fundraiser and the possibility of getting funding for a Navy counterintelligence program in the member's district. One source familiar with the inquiry said Harris made such a request for funding, but it was not granted." Mitchell Wade also contributed to the following political persons: * RNC (Republican National Committee) * John F. Kerry (D) * DNC Services Corporation (Democratic National Committee) * Robert L. Barr, Jr. (R) Georgia * Elizabeth Dole (R) NC * Larry Craig (R) ID * Steve Chabot (R) OH * Zach Wamp (R) Tenn * Duncan Hunter (R) CA * Devin Gerald Nunes (R) CA * Jerry Lewis (R) CA * Robert Ney (R) OH * John William Warner (R) Virginia * C. W. Bill Young (R) Florida * National Republican Senatorial Committee * John Davidson the IV Rockefeller (D) WV * Richard G Renzi (R) Arizona * Mario Diaz-Balart (R) Florida * Floyd Davidson Spence (R) South Carolina * John Murtha (D) Pennsylvania All the above are verifiable at fec.gov

References

External links

Mitchell Wade's Plea Agreement

by Renae Merle and R. Jeffrey Smith, ''

'', June 28, 2005

by Matt Kelley and Jim Drinkard, ''

USA Today ''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgini ...

'', November 9, 2005.
"Contractors Linked to Bribery Case Worked Together,"
by Charles Babcock, ''Washington Post'', November 30, 2005.

by Finlay Lewis, ''

San Diego Union-Tribune ''The San Diego Union-Tribune'' is a metropolitan daily newspaper published in San Diego, California, that has run since 1868. Its name derives from a 1992 merger between the two major daily newspapers at the time, ''The San Diego Union'' and ...

'', February 24, 2006.
Mitchell Wade's campaign contribution report
NewsMeat. {{DEFAULTSORT:Wade, Mitchell 1963 births Living people American University alumni 21st-century American businesspeople American people convicted of bribery American businesspeople convicted of crimes People from Great Falls, Virginia