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East County News ServicesAug. 29, 2025 (San Diego County) – Randall Harold (Randy) “Duke” Cunningham, a highly decorated naval aviator whose political career crashed after he was convicted of accepting more than $2 million in bribes during his tenure as a United States Congressman, has passed away.
Cunningham, who won a seat as a Republican in the House of Representatives 44th District in 1990 after a career as a celebrated fighter pilot during the Vietnam War, died Aug. 27, 2025 at age 83, in Hot Springs Village, Ark.
During his 14 years in Congress, also serving the 50th and 51st districts, he was a member of the Appropriations and Intelligence committees. He was seen as a leading expert on national security. His political career ended in disgrace in 2005 when he resigned after pleading guilty to charges of conspiracy to commit bribery and tax evasion.
He served seven years in prison for what was then reportedly the largest Congressional bribe in history.
Cunningham admitted to receiving at least $2.4 million in bribes from defense contractors in exchange for steering government contracts their way. The bribes came in various forms, including accepting cash, antiques, a Rolls-Royce, a yacht, and a paid-off mortgage on a multi-million-dollar mansion in Rancho Santa Fe.
At the time he was convicted, his eight-year, four-month prison sentence was the longest ever given to a member of Congress for corruption. He was also ordered to pay $1.8 million in restitution.
In 2021, President Donald J. Trump gave Cunningham a conditional presidential pardon.
Born in Los Angeles on Dec. 8, 1941, Cunningham earned the nickname "Duke" after the actor John Wayne. Cunningham enlisted in the Navy in 1967 and went on to become one of the most celebrated fighter pilots of the Vietnam War.
Flying an F-4 Phantom II, he and his Radar Intercept Officer, William P. Driscoll, became the only Navy aces of the conflict, with five confirmed aerial victories against North Vietnamese aircraft between January and May 1972.
His service earned him numerous honors, including the Navy Cross, two Silver Stars, and the Purple Heart.
After the war, Cunningham became a flight instructor at the Navy's Fighter Weapons School (Top Gun) at Naval Air Station Miramar. He retired from the Navy as a commander in 1987.
Cunningham was also a college dean at National University, and a graduate assistant swim coach and assistant football coach at the University of Missouri. He received a Bachelor of Science as well as a Master of Science in Education from University of Missouri and an MBA from National University
During his political career, Cunningham’s district included a significant part of East County, and his image as a decorated war hero and his commitment to national security resonated strongly with voters in the region. Cunningham was re-elected six times with no less than 55% of the vote.
Cunningham was originally sentenced to over eight years in prison and ordered by pay $1.8 million in restitution but was released early due to good behavior. He later claimed he regretted pleading guilty and denied committing bribery.
However, Mitchell Wade pleaded guilty to paying Cunningham over $1 million in bribes in exchange for lucrative government contracts. Wade was a defense contractor and the owner of Washington, D.C.-based MZM Inc., a company that received tens of millions of dollars in government contracts.
Reporters at The San Diego Union-Tribune exposed Wade and Cunningham’s partnership in 2005 when an investigation showed that Wade bought Cunningham’s Del Mar home in 2003 for $1.675 million.
Government records showed MZM Inc.'s revenue from government contracts skyrocketed after Wade began bribing Cunningham, growing to more than $150 million in just a few years.
Kyle “Dusty” Foggo, a high-ranking official at the Central Intelligence Agency, was also convicted of fraud related to the Cunningham scandal.
Cunningham was released from prison in 2013. He spent his final years in Arkansas.
His political colleague for many years, Duncan L. Hunter, released a statement about Cunningham:
“Duke Cunningham, my friend and colleague, represented the very best of American Heros who go out to meet our enemies at the gates. Reflect for a minute on the description of Duke's actions for which he received the Navy Cross, two Silver Stars, and a Purple Heart,” Hunter wrote.
Hunter acknowledged that Cunningham “has been the point of lots of media criticism over the last 20 years.”
“But during the Spring of 1972 when the politicians had abandoned South Vietnam, Duke saddled up each day with his co-pilot Bill ‘Irish’ Driscoll and catapulted off the deck of the Constellation to fly a gauntlet of anti-aircraft fire and shoot down five enemy aircraft and save his men doing it,” Hunter wrote.
Cunningham was preceded in death by his father, Randy Percival Cunningham, mother Lela Belle Cunningham and other family members.
He is survived by his wife, Sharon-Kay Stone Cunningham, his son, Todd (Kari) Cunningham of San Diego; stepson Rolland (Louise) Daley of San Diego; stepdaughter Kai Daley of Westminster, and other family members.
An obituary shared by Memorial Gardens Funeral Home noted that Cunningham and his wife, Sharon, were members of the East Union Missionary Baptist Church.
He was also president of the American Fighter Aces Association, a volunteer fireman in Hot Springs Village and an Experimental Aircraft Association member. Cunningham was active with myriad veteran groups.
A celebration of Cunningham's life is set for Sept. 5 at East Union Missionary Baptist Church in Hensley, Ark.
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