The Poway Mafia
This is a brief update to the story below: I hope readers understand
the importance of this. The bribe money Cunningham (and others?) took
is insignificant. What matters is the strong possibility that the
Poway-based Wilkes company strip-mined the DOD for the better part of
a billion dollars without actually providing the goods and services
that would justify such a taxpayer investment.

The various Wilkes companies seem to have existed primarily in
cyberspace. The web sites provided no personnel information and no
hard data about previous customers or services that had been
rendered. These were "let's pretend" companies.

Quite a few web sites can be traced to Wilkes. The most amusing of
the lot was this one. I'm sure it was just a joke, but some jokes
tell the deepest truths, eh wot?
Permalink
# posted by Joseph : 10:46 PM 2 comments
Comments:
Joseph -

You've got a tiger by the tail, I do believe... After hearing the
outlines of the activities of "Casino Jack" Abramoff and gang spelled
out, it all just REEKS of MAFIA to me: your title is right on. La
Cosa Nostra is also mixed up in this tsunami of a cashflow thick as
thieves, I'd be willing to bet.

My suggestion if you continue to report on this is to post more
PHOTOGRAPHS!! Nothing says it better than the hateful faces of these
crooks glowering at the camera, as Mr. Wilkes models in your last
post (and that shot of the glistening lobby is priceless).

DIG ON!!
# posted by Anonymous : 12:22 AM
Hi there,
The 'amusing' PowayMafia site is a classic example of 'hidden in
plain view'. I won't go into the mecanics of this particular
technique - needless to say its a powerful tool to send a message to
the viewer's subconscious mind in order to legitimise the literal
message - In effect, these guys are not hiding - quite the reverse.

Trouble is, whether your conscious mind recognises their message or
not - YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.

Interested readers might also want to do a google search
for "Cremation of Care" and Bohemian Grove.
# posted by Anonymous : 2:05 AM
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Forget Duke Cunningham. Take a look at THE PEOPLE WHO BRIBED HIM.
(Updated)
Folks, I beg you to read through what promises to be a longish post.
And when you're done reading, please point others toward it. I've
done some research into previously-unexplored areas of a massive
corruption scandal.

The journey began early this morning, when I made a stop at Daniel
Hopsicker's site, where he has an important new story up: "Cunningham
Stripped $700 Million from U.S. Defense -- 'Dukester's' Epic Boo-Hoo
Hiding Massive Pentagon Rip-Off."

Hopsicker looks at a California firm called ADCS, which is part of
the Wilkes Corporation, which lobbies -- and funds -- a number of
Republican politicians, not just Cunningham. Wilkes operates under a
variety of names -- the primary sobriquet seems to be "Group W
Advisors." The whole shebang is owned by a 50 year-old businessman
named Brent Wilkes and his wife Regina.

According to Hopsicker, Wilkes may have subterranean ties to the
sleazy world of Jack Abramoff. At this point, I'm not sure. Those
interested in pursuing that angle should read Hopsicker's piece and
come to their own conclusions.

Even without the Abramoff connection, a little hard-core Googling
placed this company in a very interesting light.

Before we go any further, let's clarify one matter: Mitchell Wade,
owner of MZM -- the other company accused of bribing Duke Cunnigham --
is described as a "former employee" of Wilkes. And since Wilkes has
a dizzying number of "spin-off" firms, who can really say, at this
point, where Wilkes ends and MZM begins?

Wilkes runs his own PAC, named ADCS Inc. PAC. He uses that venue and
a number of others to grease his way through the corridors of power.
ADCS is frequently referred to as a "defense" firm or an "IT" firm.
While it does seem to have some history in the field of document
services, few have looked into the question of just what it is these
people do for the DOD. When folks show up for work at 13970 Stowe
Drive in Poway, California, how do they occupy their time?

I believe that this "defense firm" is little more a Potemkin village.
A movie set. A false construct.

My findings were summarized in a letter to Hopsicker, which I will
share with you here.

* * *

Daniel,

I was going to write just a brief squib directing my readers to your
latest piece on Cunningham and his "sugar daddy," Brent Wilkes. Then
I noticed that Wilkes corp -- or ADCS, or whatever the hell he's
calling it -- is located in Poway, CA. That aroused my interest,
because my ladyfriend grew up in that town.

So I started to do some research.

NOTHING ABOUT THAT FIRM MAKES ANY SENSE!

These people built an ostentatious, massive $11 million facility in a
small town. Their web page and their ad on Monster list a LOT of
subsidiary or related firms.

Note: The subsidiary firms are no longer listed and described on the
main web page for Wilkes. You can find that stuff on the old page,
still available via Google's cache function.

Yet this story says that ADCS has only about 100 employees.

Only a hundred staffers in a place like that? Each worker must have
his own suite!

By the way, the "Bryan Wilkes" listed in the above-cited story is
probably the same person who functions as the press secretary for
Congressman Ed Royce (R-CA). Check out Royce -- his background might
prove as interesting as Cunningham's.

You want to know how weird ADCS is? One of their sub-companies is
called Group W Media. The ADCS website describes this company thus:
"Group W Media is a full-service marketing agency offering marketing,
advertising, web design and hosting, event planning and graphic
design services."
Now go to their web site: www.groupwmedia.net

That is NOT the website for any kind of legitimate advertising or
marketing firm.
Look, I've done a lot of work for advertising agencies. I know what
an ad firm's web page should look like. Any site in that field will
always be flashy, glitzy, cutting edge, "in your face" -- and
generously filled with samples of previous work. You would NOT have
to log in to see what's going on at a real ad agency. As a moment's
thought will tell you, any ad firm is going to pull out out all the
stops when it comes to advertising itself.

Group W Media is some sort of cover.

That may sound overly dramatic, but I'm dead serious. That web page
is fishier than "Finding Nemo."

I've been taking a look at all the subsidiary firms, and I have yet
to see any indication that ADCS actually provides any kind of
services to anyone.

Admittedly, my research is preliminary -- but right now, nearly ALL
of those subsidiary firms have the odor of the bogus.

Well, there is one ADCS subsidiary that DOES seem to do something --
Group W Events. They do catering. They also host events at the ADCS
corporate HQ in Poway. This whole thing seems to be headed up by
Brent's wife Regina.

One of her few known clients was...herself. She catered her own
fiftieth birthday party. She also put together a huge bash for
Republican legislator John Doolittle, another recipient of Wilkes'
largesse.

We know that ADCS -- a.k.a. Group W advisors -- has made quite a few
political payoffs. This page lists two of the mechanisms as Perfect
Wave Technologies and Pure Aqua Technologies. Google provides no hint
that either of those companies does any actual work.

Note: Perfect Wave also seems to have funneled money to Texans for a
Republican Majority. This may be part of the money that Tom Delay
sent out for laundering. See here.

The only Group W employee I've been able to find any background on is
a guy named Mark Turok. He has identified himself as Group
W's "senior legislative analyst." He seems to have arranged for some
of the political donations. He also ran a not-terribly-interesting
right-wing blog for a while, although he stopped posting about the
time the Cunningham scandal came to light.

The most interesting thing I could find out about Turok is that he's
the alumni of "Christian Unified Schools," an institution founded by
Tim LaHaye. That factoid may or may not be relevant.

My point is this: I'm unconvinced that the Wilkes corp actually does
ANYTHING. Gina Wilkes knows how to throw a nice party, but that's
about it. I have a strange feeling that this company exists for the
sole purpose of getting massive Defense contracts, which are probably
subcontracted out to real firms that do the real work.

I hope that some of this provides you with a few interesting leads. I
may publish a version of this letter on my own blog, if only because
doing so will save me the trouble of having to write it all out
again. (Obviously, I won't publish any reply you make unless you ask
me to do so.) Please keep pursuing this story -- my gut tells me that
the scandal here is pretty damned sizable.

-- C

UPDATE: I've been privately told by someone I trust that the closest
thing to an actual service Wilkes has provided to the DOD was, in
essence, xeroxing. If that's true, then -- well, what can one say?
Look at the amount of money involved! There's a sort of genius at
work here...
Permalink
# posted by Joseph : 8:41 AM 6 comments
Comments:
Joseph,
Do a "view source" on the Group W advertising page. You'll see a page
author named "Rolando Garcia." Not sure if that means anything.
# posted by Ellen : 1:32 PM
...and a "Max P. Gelwix" COO of Perfect Wave, donated $2,000 to
Bush/Cheney in '04 http://72.14.203.104/search?q=cache:d5-tf-
xmIgwJ:herndon2.sdrdc.com/cgi-
bin/dcdev/forms/C00386987/100771/sa/17A/13+%22rolando+garcia%22+%
22perfect+wave%22&hl=en&client=firefox-a,
along with a Rolando Garcia w/a Houston, TX address in '03.
# posted by Ellen : 1:45 PM
This may be well off-base, but I have been troubled for a long time
about the defense dept./war profiteering link hidden in the incident
in 2001 when a U.S. sub carrying civilian defense contractors on a
junket surfaced suddenly (in a "gee-whiz" maneauver) off the coast of
Hawaii and sank a Japanese fishing school vessel, killing many young
students. The incident was hushed up by the Rumsfeld Def. Dept., in
spite of the fact it was a major international incident. They went to
great lengths to protect the identity of the civilians on board. The
press in Hawaii was forbidden to publish info about them, and the
Navy avoided having the incident go to trial. It screams for more
investigation. As I recall, this was before 9/11, but -- like
Cheney's meetings with oil industry executives -- I believe it was
all part of the deliberate build-up to war and war profiteering.
Maybe some of these firms associated with Duke Cunningham were on
board? Just a thought!
# posted by cd : 2:45 PM
I lke to add this:--it is a well known fact that most congressman and
Senators after 1 1/2 terms become millionairs. Then it is no surprize
about Cunning-Ham!
Take our media child--Pow-Pow Powel,he reported in 2000,his net worth
was $21 million.If this poor pre- Jamican 1/2 white trash can make-or
I say-collect,that from handouts--just imagine what a politick can
make in 8 terms.
# posted by ISRAOIL : 5:29 PM
Nice bit of research on this one, Mr. Cannon.
# posted by Anonymous : 11:07 PM
This is from their HR section:

Corporate Culture

When you become a part of the Wilkes Corporation team you will enter
a working environment unlike any other. Our projects range from
working on government contracts supporting homeland defense to
planning major events in the community. We also have opportunities in
information architecture and services as we move with the rapid pace
of emerging technology.

Here at Wilkes Corporation we have a work hard-play hard mentality.
That is why we have multiple company-sponsored events throughout the
year. These events include:

* Quarterly town hall meetings and lunches
* Sporting events and tailgate parties
* Department lunches and events
* Summer events
* Community and political fundraisers
* Annual Holiday Ball

While at work we also want to make each day as profitable and
beneficial for you as it can be. We offer the following to assist you
in this:

* Internal training
* Educational/Professional Development Program
* Employee Incentive Points Program
* Great benefits packages

Our corporate headquarters are located in Poway, California with
sister facilities in Hawaii, Washington D.C., (Chantilly) Virginia,
and Panama. As our company grows, so do our locations, both domestic
and international.

And this is from their job postings (not too many in the past year+)
:

All Job Postings
Job Title: Facilities Tech I
Job Type: Non-Exempt; Staff

Description: This position constructs, repairs, installs, and
maintains area/sections of the corporate office building utilizing
technical, interpersonal, and critical thinking skills under the
guidance and support of the Facilities Manager. Provides functional
direction to co-workers by taking initiatives to provide hands-on
assistance, direction, support and development and serves as a
positive role model by way of example. Displays and practices a work-
style that reflects the mission, philosophy, and goals of the
organization.

Department: Facilities
Location: San Diego
Date Posted: 8/19/2005

Job Title: Project Management Engineer (CA)
Job Type: Exempt; Management

Description: From requirements formulation through the fielding of
technology-enabled systems, manages the activities of operations
projects and contracts which involve the conceptualization, research,
development and acquisition of technology systems for Military and
Federal government agencies. Participates in all aspects of
science/technology engineering research and development from the
development/review of customer requirements, SOW and proposal
development, project/task and contract management; coordination of
science and engineering work products and deliverables; and perform
as a liaison between management, technology partners, and the
customer.

Department: Operations
Location: San Diego
Date Posted: 5/13/2005

Job Title: Project Management Engineer (VA)
Job Type: Exempt; Management

Description: From requirements formulation through the fielding of
technology-enabled systems, manages the activities of operations
projects and contracts which involve the conceptualization, research,
development and acquisition of technology systems for Military and
Federal government agencies. Participates in all aspects of
science/technology engineering research and development from the
development/review of customer requirements, SOW and proposal
development, project/task and contract management; coordination of
science and engineering work products and deliverables; and perform
as a liaison between management, technology partners, and the
customer.

Department: Operations
Location: Chantilly
Date Posted: 6/4/2004

Job Title: Public Relations Specialist
Job Type: Non-Exempt; Staff or Team Lead

Description: • The Public Relations Specialist will perform all
duties designed to ensure a positive organizational image to the
general public, clients, and the community. The person in this
position will assist in strategizing and developing the media image
for The Wilkes Corporation companies and will serve as a company
spokesperson to the media and public under the direction of the
President & CEO.

Department: Operations
Location: San Diego
Date Posted: 5/12/2005

Job Title: Research Analyst
Job Type: Non-Exempt; Staff or Team Lead

Description: • The role of Research Analyst is part of The Planning
Group's Knowledge Services. Research Analysts provide development
support and execution of ad hoc quantitative and qualitative
projects. Research Analysts assist Consulting Practice teams by
collecting, summarizing, analyzing, and synthesizing facts (or
alternative information when factual data is not readily available)
that serve as critical inputs into targeted end products. These end
products may be in the form of graphs, single exhibits, written
summaries, and spreadsheets.

Department: Business Development
Location: San Diego
Date Posted: 8/11/2005

Job Title: Technical Writer
Job Type: Non-Exempt; Staff

Description: • Under the direction of the Staff Program Manager or VP
of Operations, the Technical Writer/Documentation Specialist will
complete various technical and non-technical writing assignments,
including writing new material, editing existing material and
assisting in the formatting and presentation of business/technology
related documentation and contract deliverables.

Department: Operations
Location: San Diego
Date Posted: 8/25/2005
# posted by Anonymous : 6:16 AM
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