SAN DIEGO (AP) — Randy "Duke" Cunningham, whose feats as a Navy flying ace during the Vietnam War catapulted him to a U.S. House career that ended in disgrace when he was convicted of accepting $2.4 million in bribes from defense contractors, on Tuesday completed one of the longest prison sentence ever given to a member of Congress.
Cunningham, 71, told a federal judge last year that he planned to live near his mother and brother in a remote part of Arkansas, writing books in a small cabin. But in a brief interview with The Associated Press in April, he said he might settle with military friends in Florida, where he would write his memoirs.
"I'm like a tenderfoot in the forest," he said. "I'm just unsure where to find a branch to sit on."
Cunningham, an eight-term Republican congressman from San Diego, was sentenced to eight years, four months in prison in March 2006 after pleading guilty to accepting bribes from companies in exchange for steering government contracts their way. The bribes included a luxury house, yacht, Rolls-Royce, travel, lavish meals, $40,000 Persian rugs and antique furniture.
Cunningham, who had his sentence cut 392 days for good behavior, was in home confinement since February. Chris Burke, a spokesman for the Federal Bureau of Prisons, declined to say where or explain the circumstances of his release, citing privacy and safety concerns.