By Rebecca Carr, Cox Newspapers, November 1, 2007

1 Nov 2007 // Political contenders beware of the sad tale of defense contractor Mitchell Wade.

The Federal Election Commission just slapped Wade and his defense firm MZM, Inc., with one of its largest fines ever— a $1,000,000 civil penalty for “knowingly and willfully” trying to funnel illegal contributions into congressional campaigns.

The commission’s inquiry into Wade was sparked by a complaint filed by the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, alleging that Wade violated federal fundraising rules by using corporate funds to reimburse employees for contriubutions made to members of Congress.

Wade believed the contributions to a political action committee would help his defense firm win contracts, according to the watchdog group. Wade’s dealings were first exposed by the San Diego Tribune as part of its investigation into the now imprisoned former Republican Rep. Randy “Duke” Cunningham (photo shown). Cunningham was convicted of taking bribes for contracts. Randy%20Duke%20Cunningham.jpgWade has accepted a conciliation agreement where he “admits to knowingly and willfully violating the Federal Election Campaign Act by funneling $78,000 in corporate contributions” to Rep. Virgil Goode, R-Va., and former Rep. Katherine Harris, R-Fla., and agreeing to pay $1 million to settle the matter.

“There are serious consequences for those who knowingly and willfully try to funnel illegal contributions into federal election campaigns,” said Robert Lenhard, chairman of the commission. “The historic civil penalty collected in this case shows that the FEC has a strong and vigorous enforcement program in place.”

Melanie Sloan, executive director of CREW, said she was gratified by the commission’s decision.

“As the presidential campaign season progresses, a fine of this magnitude should serve as a warning to all political donors that violating federal campaign finance laws has serious consequences,” Sloan said.