The Small World of Limos and Earmarks

Here are a few more details related to Shirlington Limo and Transportation Services--Brent Wilkes' alleged carrier of choice for hookers and congressmen to his hospitality suites at the Watergate and other fine DC hotels--we think should be brought to your attention.

In a late update to an earlier post that we had missed until now, Laura Rozen has an anonymous source that tells her that "Chris Baker of Shirlington Limo was Wilkes' driver from way back when.... he would pick up documents and stuff around town for Wilkes." (ellipses in the original)  This answers one question we had: How did Wilkes come to pick Shirlington as his limo service?  However, we still wonder how the two originally met "way back when."

Secondly, and bear with us for a moment, Jerome Foster, one of the three a former Shirlington directors (see here; pdf), is a San Diego-area contractor whose Pentech Energy Services employed the services of former Congressman-turned lobbyist Bill Lowery's lobby shop (hat tip: Josh Marshall).  Lowery has also lobbied extensively for Wilkes' company ADCS, Inc.  And Lowery is joined to the hip with Rep. Jerry Lewis (R-CA), who chaired until last year the same House defense appropriations committee that the disgraced Rep. "Duke" Cunningham sat on and from which he directed his earmarks.  Now Lewis chairs the full appropriations committee.  Lewis and Lowery have turned the defense appropriations subcommittee into an earmarking machine for Lowery's clients who have benefitted from their close relationship.  Uncovered in a seminal San Diego Union Tribune piece on L'Affaire Cunningham, back in the 80's, Lowery and Wilkes went on trips to Central America to visit the likes of the Contras and CIA officer and Wilkes' childhood friend K. Dusty Foggo.  Wilkes has also contributed heavily to Lewis.

Small world ain't it.

Comments

[Pink Limo]

Man yours story is good. Limousine is good for wedding!

[limo]

WOW! What a story?! trully the world is becoming smaller.. fortunately the Limousines are becoming bigger!

[Bondo]

DHS extneds contract to Limo company for new work after Cunningham scandal Oct 18, 2006
The $21 million contract went into effect Oct. 27, 2005, with annual options for five years.

[Bondo]

Amendment Cuts DHS Funding for Limousine Use

The House version of the 2007 Homeland Security Appropriations bill now includes an amendment to reallocate funding otherwise spent on limousines for Department of Homeland Security employees to instead pay for grants for local fire departments, Rep. John R. Kuhl, R-N.Y., said Tuesday. “I was shocked and appalled to learn recently that the Department of Homeland Security had a $22 million contract with a limo company in Virginia to provide limousine service to Department bureaucrats to ride around Washington,” Kuhl said. He called the request a “gross misuse of taxpayer funds.” If the current version becomes law, the amendment—sponsored by Kuhl and Rep. Tom Price, R-Ga.—would redirect those funds to local fire departments for equipment, safety programs and training.

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What's the deal with this Hayden character? Seems like Bush is pushing him because they can control him. Is that what you're hearing?

[Bondo]

According to the federal CCR, Shirlington Limo as its called by its Doing Business As (DBA)name: AMBASSADOR LUXURY TOURS & TRANSPORTATION is located ( Physical Street Address) at- WASHINGTON NATIONAL AIRPORT H-7 STE223.
SHIRLINGTON LIMOUSINE is also classified as a federal HUBzone contractor. Shilrlington has been awarded other federal contracts before the DHS contract, one as an 8(a) set aside (2003) which Shirlington does not appear to be!

[CalEd]

I'd like to know how Lucretia A Pearce became VP of Operations of Shirlington. The government contract designates Shirlington as having "veteran and minority" status. A lookup of Ms. Pearce finds photos showing her to appear to be African-American and to be a somewhat accomplished well-educated person. How did she get involved with Wilkes, Baker, et al.?

[Nick at POGO]

Thanks Bondo, I corrected the post to say Foster was a former director.

[Bondo]

As of today, only a Chris D. Baker is listed as a Board Director of the company.