The former executive director of the CIA pleaded guilty Monday to one count of fraud stemming from the Randall “Duke” Cunningham bribery scandal.
Kyle “Dusty” Foggo, 53, admitted in U.S. District Court in Alexandria that he used his position to steer millions of dollars in lucrative contracts to his best friend without disclosing their relationship.
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As part of the plea, prosecutors dropped 27 other counts against Foggo and agreed to seek a maximum of three-year, one-month prison term. His sentencing is set for Jan. 8 in Alexandria.
The plea comes three weeks after prosecutors complained that Foggo was threatening to reveal the identities of every CIA agent that he worked with.
Foggo, of Vienna, admitted that he devised a scheme that allowed his longtime friend Brent Wilkes, a defense contractor, to conceal their close relationship by adopting false cover stories regarding their relationship and using “straw men” and shell companies.
In return, Foggo accepted tens of thousands of dollars in meals and “sexual companionship,” along with a standing offer for a high-paying job at Wilkes’ company, prosecutors said.
The gifts included expensive dinners at gourmet steakhouses and free vacations for Foggo and his family in Scotland and Hawaii.
The case against Foggo, who once held the third-highest ranking position in the agency, stemmed from the Cunningham bribery probe.
In November 2007, a jury convicted Wilkes for bribing Cunningham, then a Republican congressman from California. Wilkes is serving a 12-year prison sentence.
Cunningham in March 2006 received an eight-year, four-month sentence after admitting to accepting more than $2.4 million in bribes.
Foggo joined the CIA following graduation from San Diego State University, embarking on 23-year career with the agency. In November 2004, he was selected to become the executive director of the CIA. He resigned on May 8, 2006, less than a week before federal agents raided his Northern Virginia home.
