Duke Cunningham
Randall "Duke" Cunningham, (born December 8, 1941, was a Republican congressman from California's 50th district (northern San Diego) who resigned from the House on November 28, 2005, when it was found that he had been receiving illicit bribes totally $2.4 million. This included receiving luxury gifts like a yacht (reportedly called the "Duke Stir") and expensive jewelry. Since he didn't report accepting bribes to the IRS, he underreported his income for 2004.
Cunningham denied the charges at first, but later came clean with a tearful and moving[Citation Needed] apology to his family, friends, and constituents. The bribes were received by Randall Cunningham in exchange for lucrative defense contracts for the Pentagon to local California contractors and businessmen. On March 3, 2006, he received a sentence of eight years and four months in prison and an order to pay $1.8 million in restitution[1].
Cunningham was succeeded by former congressman Brian Bilbray, also a Republican, following a special election.
