Today’s Must Read

Thomas Kontogiannis: thrice-convicted felon. Identity thief. Admitted money launderer to extremely crooked Congressman. And, in his own telling, counterterrorist.

Thanks to Judge Larry Burns, who earlier this week ordered four days of court transcripts in the murky Kontogiannis case unsealed, we have our first peek into the motivations of the shady Long Island businessman. Not avarice nor profit guided his actions, Kontogiannis told the court: he linked up with Duke Cunningham out of a post-9/11 sense of patriotism.

“My interest is (the) United States, basically. And (Cunningham) was in a position that I could reach and tell (the government) information that I was gathering from all over the world.”

Cunningham and Kontogiannis have a relationship stretching back years before 9/11. With his frequent travel abroad — including on a strange trip with Cunningham to Saudi Arabia in December 2004 — Kontogiannis told the court that he was in a position to help the government learn to fight terrorism, based on his network of contacts. Laundering money for Cunningham’s boat and home purchases was merely, to Kontogiannis, a cost of doing business to keep the ear of a Congressman who served on crucial defense and intelligence committees. Asked if he was buying Cunningham’s influence, Tommy K replied, “definitely.”

Kontogiannis, in his own mind at least, isn’t some ordinary shyster. He’s Jack Bauer.

Much in the court transcripts is redacted. But the San Diego Union-Tribune reports that Burns, at one point, refers to an ongoing investigation by a Joint Terrorism Task Force, an FBI-led inter-agency counterterrorism team. Kontogiannis’ initial lack of fingerprinting during his plea, and the enormous secrecy surrounding the case, is quite possibly explained by the government believing Kontogiannis really did possess valuable terrorism-related information, making his identity something the government would potentially be interested in hiding.

If so, that interest was probably perishable: Burns in June ordered Kontogiannis fingerprinted, and, obviously, unsealed the early transcripts. But, true to form, Kontogiannis, when pinched, offered up information far beyond the Cunningham case in order to spare himself jail time. His cooperation will surely earn him leniency at his sentencing, scheduled for November 26, but whether he’ll avoid jail for a third time remains to be seen.

The SDUT has the Kontogiannis transcripts here. Tell us what you find interesting in comments. We’ll bring you updates throughout the day.