Brent Wilkes’ “Secret Benefactor” Wants to Assure Anonymity Before Paying BailHave no fear, Brent Wilkes! Your secret benefactor is here!
Wilkes, the defense contractor convicted of bribing Duke Cunningham, has been sitting in federal custody unable to meet his $1.4 million bail pending appeal of his case. But now, an anonymous donor has emerged, agreeing to provide “Wilkes’s shortfall” in making bail— but only on the condition that his identity is kept a secret.
From the North County Times:
“Mr. Wilkes’ third party surety seeks to keep his identifying information, including his full name, confidential,” Wilkes’ attorney, Robert Rexrode, wrote in a motion filed Friday. “Revealing this would both be damaging to his livelihood and would reveal his net worth. …”Under the deal proposed by Wilkes through his attorney, even though the man’s name would be kept from the public, federal prosecutors could be privy to it.
As we previously reported, Wilkes is now broke— a long fall from the multi-million defense contracts he once held. He and his family have tried to put their homes up for collateral, but falling housing prices have made them worth less than the $1.4 million needed for bail.