Cunningham pleads guilty to federal charges
Posted: Tuesday, July 01, 2008
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) -- Former CIETC executive Ramona Cunningham pleaded guilty on Monday in federal court to eight counts for her role in a pay scandal at a government-funded job training agency.
Cunningham admitted to misapplying federal funds over a three-year period as she served as CEO of the now-defunct Central Iowa Employment and Training Consortium. She had faced 30 charges including conspiracy to misapply funds, misapplication of federal funds and obstruction of an investigation.
The 53-year-old will be sentenced later by Judge Robert Pratt. Prosecutors believed under federal guidelines that her sentence could range from 7 to 10 years, and that's what they plan to argue for at the sentencing hearing.
"Well you've witnessed a shipwreck, that's obvious," Cunningham's attorney Bill Kutmus said after Monday's plea hearing. "I think Ramona, she admitted she was at the wheel when this shipwreck occurred, she has accepted responsibility for her past deeds."
Kutmus said the sentence "is the fighting issue" in the case, and he vowed to argue for a lower sentence than what the government will suggest. He said he wouldn't give particulars until the sentencing hearing, which hasn't been scheduled yet.
U.S. Attorney Matthew G. Whitaker called the plea agreement "a victory for the tax paying public those that work hard every day to put food on their tables and gas in their cars."
"I hope the CIETC case serves as a lesson in how publicly funded entities, especially those that use federal funds, should be operated to serve the common good," Whitaker said.
He said the eight counts Cunningham pleaded to represent each of the federal funds that were defrauded or otherwise misapplied. The only advantage Cunningham has through the plea agreement, he said, is by accepting responsibility for her actions. That means she may have 18 to 24 months in prison shaved from a sentence that a trial judge could have delivered.
Prosecutors say Cunningham misspent more than $1.5 million on executive salaries and bonuses -- including huge payouts to herself from January 2003 to April 2006. The indictment in her case said that during one year she was paid more than $368,000 in salary and bonuses.
Cunningham did not join her three co-defendants in a trial in April in Davenport after her attorney argued she wouldn't be able to assist in her defense and was awarded a delay so that a mental competency hearing could be held.
Her treating psychiatrist in Louisiana, where she has been living, said Cunningham was diagnosed with major depression and was treated for psychosis and couldn't effectively help in her defense. The government's psychiatrist testified that Cunningham understood the charges against her and that her level of depression, although significant, wouldn't keep her from assisting in her case.
Judge Pratt agreed and ruled that Cunningham was competent to stand trial. The case was scheduled to begin on July 8. Cunningham signed the plea agreement on June 19.
During her co-defendants' trial, defense lawyers portrayed Cunningham as the ringleader of the scheme. Testimony painted her as an unstable and overbearing boss who had affairs with some of the men she worked with and who gambled frequently during work hours.
Cunningham faced the greatest number of charges in the CIETC pay scandal, where prosecutors say CIETC employees misspent government funds over a three-year period.
Jurors previously convicted Karen Tesdell, a former CIETC treasurer, of all 29 counts against her. Dan Albritton, a former board member and Cunningham's boyfriend, was acquitted of a count of conspiracy, and former Iowa Workforce Development supervisor Jane Barto was found guilty of one count of obstruction but acquitted of a conspiracy charge.
Two other former CIETC officials -- board chairman Archie Brooks and former chief operating officer John Bargman already had previously reached plea deals with prosecutors.
Cunningham admitted to misapplying federal funds over a three-year period as she served as CEO of the now-defunct Central Iowa Employment and Training Consortium. She had faced 30 charges including conspiracy to misapply funds, misapplication of federal funds and obstruction of an investigation.
The 53-year-old will be sentenced later by Judge Robert Pratt. Prosecutors believed under federal guidelines that her sentence could range from 7 to 10 years, and that's what they plan to argue for at the sentencing hearing.
"Well you've witnessed a shipwreck, that's obvious," Cunningham's attorney Bill Kutmus said after Monday's plea hearing. "I think Ramona, she admitted she was at the wheel when this shipwreck occurred, she has accepted responsibility for her past deeds."
Kutmus said the sentence "is the fighting issue" in the case, and he vowed to argue for a lower sentence than what the government will suggest. He said he wouldn't give particulars until the sentencing hearing, which hasn't been scheduled yet.
U.S. Attorney Matthew G. Whitaker called the plea agreement "a victory for the tax paying public those that work hard every day to put food on their tables and gas in their cars."
"I hope the CIETC case serves as a lesson in how publicly funded entities, especially those that use federal funds, should be operated to serve the common good," Whitaker said.
He said the eight counts Cunningham pleaded to represent each of the federal funds that were defrauded or otherwise misapplied. The only advantage Cunningham has through the plea agreement, he said, is by accepting responsibility for her actions. That means she may have 18 to 24 months in prison shaved from a sentence that a trial judge could have delivered.
Prosecutors say Cunningham misspent more than $1.5 million on executive salaries and bonuses -- including huge payouts to herself from January 2003 to April 2006. The indictment in her case said that during one year she was paid more than $368,000 in salary and bonuses.
Cunningham did not join her three co-defendants in a trial in April in Davenport after her attorney argued she wouldn't be able to assist in her defense and was awarded a delay so that a mental competency hearing could be held.
Her treating psychiatrist in Louisiana, where she has been living, said Cunningham was diagnosed with major depression and was treated for psychosis and couldn't effectively help in her defense. The government's psychiatrist testified that Cunningham understood the charges against her and that her level of depression, although significant, wouldn't keep her from assisting in her case.
Judge Pratt agreed and ruled that Cunningham was competent to stand trial. The case was scheduled to begin on July 8. Cunningham signed the plea agreement on June 19.
During her co-defendants' trial, defense lawyers portrayed Cunningham as the ringleader of the scheme. Testimony painted her as an unstable and overbearing boss who had affairs with some of the men she worked with and who gambled frequently during work hours.
Cunningham faced the greatest number of charges in the CIETC pay scandal, where prosecutors say CIETC employees misspent government funds over a three-year period.
Jurors previously convicted Karen Tesdell, a former CIETC treasurer, of all 29 counts against her. Dan Albritton, a former board member and Cunningham's boyfriend, was acquitted of a count of conspiracy, and former Iowa Workforce Development supervisor Jane Barto was found guilty of one count of obstruction but acquitted of a conspiracy charge.
Two other former CIETC officials -- board chairman Archie Brooks and former chief operating officer John Bargman already had previously reached plea deals with prosecutors.
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