Spencer Ackerman August 20, 2007, 11:46 AM

Thomas Kontogiannis really can’t help himself. We knew that the New York-based businessman was convicted in 1994 of committing visa fraud and bribing officials at the U.S. embassy in Athens; and again in 2000 of paying a Queens school district official 50 grand in a paper bag to steer lucrative contracts to his company. But there was big money in those capers: the contract for installing computer equipment at the schools involved millions of dollars, and Kontogiannis and his henchmen ultimately had to repay the district nearly $5 million. Most notably, in February, Kontogiannis pleaded guilty to a count of engaging in an illicit monetary transaction for Duke Cunningham after Cunningham gave him up for laundering millions in bribes from Mitchell Wade and Brent Wilkes.

But in his nephew John Michael’s motion, we see a seedier side of Kontogiannis: a guy who can’t help himself when there’s money to be snatched. Apparently, in 1996, Kontogiannis stole the identity of a certain Thomas Conti, opened at least ten credit cards in Conti’s name, and racked up a couple grand in purchases. All this occurred when Kontogiannis was on federal probation in the visa-fraud case.

That’s not all. Exhibits filed along with Michael’s motion also reveal that in December 1996, Chase Manhattan declined Conti’s application to start a line of credit, alerting him that he already had a delinquent account with the bank. In response, Kontogiannis actually created a limited power of attorney for himself over Conti’s finances in order to stop fraud investigations by the banks and credit card companies. He and “Conti” wrote to American Express’s fraud division on December 23, 1996:

Since all accounts with American Express were current and in good standing and after a personal visit with Mr. Kontogiannis, there is no reason to further pursue this and it would be greatly appreciated that Mr. Contis [sic] accounts be restored at the earliest convenience.

That, at least, was generous of Tommy K. The documents, unfortunately, don’t specify what he bought with Conti’s money. But his buddies down at the Bing must have been impressed.

Thomas Kontogiannis