In other news, Knight Ridder is reporting a Pentagon intelligence agency hired a contractor linked to imprisoned former Congressmember Randy “Duke” Cunningham to monitor religious groups, schools, and other locations around the country. The company, MZM Incorporated, was hired to provide support to the Pentagon’s Joint Counter-Intelligence Field Activity, or CIFA. According to its contract, MZM was to “assist the government in identifying and procuring data” on maps, as well as “airports, ports, dams, churches/mosques/synagogues, schools (and) power plants.” The company also received three contracts to provide undisclosed “intelligence services” directly to the White House. MZM became embroiled in Cunningham’s extensive corruption scandal when it was revealed the company’s founder, Mitchell Wade, bought Cunningham’s home at a $700,000 loss. MZM, which has received millions of dollars in federal contracts, is the focus of an ongoing criminal investigation.