Ex-Calif. Rep. Cunningham finishes prison term

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.

http://news.yahoo.com/ex-calif-rep-cunningham-finishes-191251845.html

He was the consummate Republican asshole congressman when he was in office, and remains the consummate Republican asshole ex-congressman now that he's out of prison.