Brent R. Wilkes and User:DoSiDo: Difference between pages

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'''Brent R. Wilkes''' (May 1954–) is a [[defense contractor]], who became well known for his involvement with the [[Duke Cunningham]] defense contracting scandal.

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==TO DO==

==Personal and business==

*[http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Chemical_images_that_should_use_vector_graphics Chemical images that should use vector graphics]

Wilkes grew up in [[San Diego, California|San Diego]] and graduated from [[San Diego State University]] in 1977 after studying accounting. Later, he went to work for a Southern California software company that was seeking federal contracts for converting paper documents to digital ones. He was [[George W. Bush]]'s finance co-chairman in [[California]], and also involved in [[Arnold Schwarzenegger]]'s campaign for governor. But it was as a federal contractor that he became involved with the [[Duke Cunningham]] bribery scandal, and other defense contractor corruption.

*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:WikiProject_Chemistry/Image_Request WikiProject Chemistry/Image Request]

Wilkes lives in [[Poway, California]].

*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Chemistry_pages_needing_pictures Category:Chemistry pages needing pictures]

*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:WikiProject_Drugs/Structural_diagrams WikiProject Pharmacology/Structural diagrams]

==Chem==

== Involvement with the Cunningham Scandal ==

{{main|Duke Cunningham}}

===References / Links===

As the [[Washington Post]] put it, "Wilkes was an obscure California contractor and lobbyist until his name surfaced last year as one of two defense contractors alleged to have given Cunningham $2.4 million in cash and other benefits in return for Cunningham's steering government business their way. One of Wilkes's companies received more than $80 million in [[Pentagon]] contracts over the past decade that stemmed from earmarks that Cunningham slipped into spending bills." <ref name="Earmarks Became Contractor's Business">[http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/02/20/AR2006022001154.html Earmarks Became Contractor's Business] Charles R. Babcock, ''Washington Post'', February 20, 2006</ref>

*[http://www.cas.org/EO/regsys.html CAS REGISTRY Overview]

*[http://openbabel.sourceforge.net/ Open Babel: A Package to Decypher Computational Chemistry]

*[http://www.emolecules.com/ eMolecules Chemical Search]

*[http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Molecules Molecules]

*[http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Molecule Molecule]

===Software===

In 1995 Wilkes started [[ADCS Inc.]] which stood for "automated document conversion systems." With Cunningham's help, he began winning contracts from the Pentagon.

*[http://jmol.sourceforge.net/ Jmol]

*[http://www.acdlabs.com/download/ ChemSketch]

*[http://www.chemaxon.com/marvin/ CML MarvinView]

*[http://bkchem.zirael.org/download_en.html BK Chem]

*[http://www.inkscape.org/ Inkscape]

**from ChemSketch, export as TIFF or WMF, then import in Inkscape

===CML===

"He snared a $1 million Pentagon contract in 1997, which Cunningham proclaimed "an asset" to San Diego. In 1999, ADCS was awarded a $9.7 million contract to convert documents in Panama. Subsequently, the company began collecting more than $20 million a year in defense business." <ref name="Earmarks Became Contractor's Business" />

*[http://wwmm.ch.cam.ac.uk/moin/ChemicalMarkupLanguage ChemicalMarkupLanguage]

*[http://www.ch.ic.ac.uk/rzepa/chimeral/resources/cml/chimeral/index.html Index of CML Molecule]

*[http://www.ch.ic.ac.uk/rzepa/talks/eth05/ Chemical Semantic Web: publishing &amp; CMLRSS]

*[http://wwmm.ch.cam.ac.uk/moin/CmlRss CmlRss]

*[http://www.randomfactory.com/cml.html CML Reference Collection]

*[http://cml.sourceforge.net/wiki/index.php/Main_Page CML Wiki]

===Import Test===

In return, Wilkes rented hospitality suites at the Watergate Hotel and at the Westin Grand Hotel for Cunningham and other legislators and their guests. Wilkes hired [[Shirlington Limousine & Transportation Service]] of Virginia since 1990 for entertainment at the Watergate Hotel. In 2005, the [[Department of Homeland Security]] granted Shirlington a $21 million contract. According to reports in the Wall Street Journal and the San Diego Union-Tribune, prostitutes regularly accompanied guests at the suites. <ref name="watergate">Wilkes's Hospitality Suites

[[Image:amlodipine.svg]]

* [http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20051204/news_1n4adcs.html Contractor 'knew how to grease the wheels'] Dean Calbreath and Jerry Kammer, ''San Diego Union-Tribune'', December 4, 2005

* [http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/politics/20060428-9999-1n28duke.html Co-conspirator's possible links to prostitutes eyed] Dean Calbreath, ''San Diego Union-Tribune'', April 28, 2006

</ref>

However, "[t]he military never asked for the ADCS projects. In fact, in 2000 the Pentagon's inspector general blasted the company's biggest project, a $9.7 million contract to convert documents in Panama. The report said the program was created under pressure from two congressmen, whom Pentagon procurement officials have identified as Cunningham and [[Duncan Hunter]] (R-Calif), chairman of the [[Armed Services Committee]]," to whom Cunningham had also donated heavily. <ref name="The power of persuasion">[http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/politics/20060205-9999-1n5wilkes.html The power of persuasion], Dean Calbreath, San Diego Union-Tribune, February 5, 2006</ref>

On [[November 28]], [[2005]] Cunningham pled guilty, and on [[March 3]], [[2006]], U.S. District Judge Larry A. Burns sentenced Cunningham to 100 months (eight years and four months) in prison, the longest ever given to a former member of congress [http://www.cnn.com/2006/LAW/03/03/cunningham.sentenced/index.html] . The plea agreement mentioned four co-conspirators along with Cunningham: Wilkes, [[Mitchell Wade]]; New York businessman [[Thomas Kontogiannis]] (whom U.S. Coast Guard records show was involved in a questionable boat deal with Cunningham); and [[John T. Michael]], Kontogiannis' nephew (the owner of a New York-based mortgage company Coastal Capital Corp. Property records show the company made $1.15 million in real estate loans to Cunningham, two of which were used in the purchase of his Rancho Santa Fe mansion. Court records show that Wade paid off one of those loans). [http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2006/03/07/news/top_stories/20_10_183_6_06.txt]

== PerfectWave involvement with other Congressmen==

After the release of the Pentagon report which criticized ADCS, Wilkes and a business associate, Max Gelwix, established [[PerfectWave Technologies, LLC|PerfectWave Technologies LLC]], which was trying to perfect a way to delete background noise from radio communications.

PerfectWave and ADCS, plus Wilkes himself, owned a company called ''Group W Advisers'', which sought government contracts and earmarks in defense appropriations bills. Effective as of April 1, 2002, Group W Advisers hired the [[Alexander Strategy Group]], a lobby group run by [[Ed Buckham]], the former chief of staff and spiritual advisor to then-House Majority Leader [[Tom DeLay]], and [[Tony Rudy]], DeLay's former deputy chief of staff. (DeLay's wife, Christine, was working at the firm's office at the time. So was Congressman Doolittle's wife, Julie.) Wilkes and his friends donated heavily to DeLay, Rep. [[Roy Blunt]] (R-Mo.) and Representative [[John T. Doolittle]] (R-Calif.). For example, by mid-April 2002, Wilkes, his executives and ADCS donated $45,000 to [[ARMPAC]] so one of their executives could play golf with DeLay, [[FEC]] records show. [http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/3764818.html]

Doolittle acknowledges steering money to PerfectWave but denies doing anything wrong. In a statement last month, he said his backing for PerfectWave was "based solely on the project's merits and the written support of the military.' But the only evidence Doolittle's office could provide to show military support for the project was a letter of praise from Robert Lusardi, a program manager for light armored vehicles at the Marine Corps dated Feb. 25 – two and a half years after PerfectWave got its first earmark. By the time Lusardi wrote his letter, the company had received at least $37 million in earmarks." <ref name="The power of persuasion" />

Charges related to PerfectWave are still under investigation.

== Involvement with the CIA ==

In [[March]] [[2006]] the [[CIA]] announced that it was investigating the connection between Wilkes and the agency's No. 3 official, [[Kyle "Dusty" Foggo]], and whether Foggo helped Wilkes gain CIA contracts.

CIA spokesman Paul Gimigliano said it is "standard practice" for the inspector general to look into allegations involving agency officers. "That should in no way be seen as lending credibility to any allegation."

Foggo and Wilkes attended school together at [[Hilltop High School]] in [[Chula Vista]] and [[San Diego State University]], served as best men in each other's weddings, and named their sons after each other. [http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/politics/20060304-9999-1n4foggo.html]

== References ==

<references />

== External links ==

*[http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/metro/20051204-9999-1n4adcs.html "ADCS founder spent years cultivating political contacts"], ''The San Diego Union-Tribune'', December 4, 2005 by Dean Calbreath and Jerry Kammer

[[Category:1954 births|Wilkes, Brent]]

[[Category:Living people|Wilkes, Brent]]

[[Category:American businesspeople|Wilkes, Brent]]