Heard a funny story about Brent Wilkes today, alleged Cunningham co-conspirator 1. That he has a whole lot of water bottles in his office. When someone remarked on them, Wilkes said he was going to be selling that water to the government. Hey, who said Pure Aqua Technologies was a shell company? And didn't we hear about some water contract somewhere? I can't tell if this Wilkes/Cunningham story is in the Sopranos or some other genre, but there's a fell-off-the-truck quality to so much of this stuff.

And what was Bob Ney (R-OH) doing putting into the Congressional Record high praise of Brent Wilkes' "Tribute to Heroes" foundation - of San Diego -- on October 1, 2002?

Mr. NEY. Mr. Speaker, Whereas, San Diego's Tribute to Heroes was established to honor and support local heroes and their organizations; and

* Whereas, San Diego's Tribute to Heroes should be commended for its worthwhile efforts for servicemen and their families, emergency workers, and children's health care; and

* Whereas, San Diego's Tribute to Heroes ball will be held October 5, 2002 at the San Diego Aerospace Museum;

* Therefore, I join with the residents of the entire 18th Congressional District in recognizing San Diego's Tribute to Heroes organization for its dedication."

Ney only got $1,000 from alleged Cunningham co-conspirator #2, Mitchell Wade, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, and nothing from Wilkes, as far as I can tell. What's going on here? Is Mitchell Wade the Adam Kidan to Brent Wilkes' Abramoff in this case, a la SunCruz, which Ney also praised in the Congressional Record, not once, but twice? The AP reported July 17, 2005:

A charitable foundation started by ADCS President Brent Wilkes spent $36,000 hosting a black tie "Tribute to Heroes" gala in 2002 that feted Cunningham with a trophy naming him a hero, according to the event's Web site and tax filings. The same year, Wade donated nearly $30,000 to Wilkes' foundation.

Or is it some other alignment? Are DeLay's former staffers at Alexander Strategy Group, employed by Wilkes' Group W Advisors as lobbyists, part of the mix? Did Ney enjoy one of Wilkes-sponsored Lear-jet trips to Hawaii or Idaho? Or was it a favor paid someone else entirely? Someone from Northpoint Strategies, headed by former Cunningham and Duncan Hunter staffers (second item)? Or maybe it's less indirect than that? As Hotline informed its readers yesterday, former Ney chief of staff Neil Volz, and former DeLay deputy chief of staff Tony Rudy, are currently under Justice Department scrutiny in the Abramoff investigation. It's hard to know, but may be worth digging, why Ney would have been inspired to praise Wilkes' foundation in October 2002.

(Thx to AK for the research help).

Posted by Laura at December 6, 2005 02:57 PM