In a previous story, I identified George Plescia as a Congressman. He is actually in the California state legislature. The error was inexcusable; my deepest apologies. There is some talk, it seems, of asking Plescia to replace Cunningham.

Since this inquiry has turned into a group effort, much of what follows should be classified as "avenues for further investigation." In other words, what we're about to look at isn't "finished intelligence" but a list of suggestive matters worth digging into.

Does Mirror Labs actually exist? I recently heard from a reader who insists that she applied for a job at Mirror Labs.

Now, as some of you may recall, Mirror Labs is more important than some of the other Wilkes sub-firms, since this group received DOD monies, and they share the same office space with ADCS PAC, which funds political campaigns. This situation looked -- and looks -- to me as though money was going directly from DOD to the GOP, especially since the Mirror Labs web page hasn't been up for a good long time, and the old web page looked mighty "funky." Prove that Mirror is a (largely) fake company, and you prove that taxpayer monies segued directly into GOP hands.

This contention is not negated by the possibility that Wilkes' sub-firms may sub-contract out whatever legitimate work comes their way (just as "detective agencies" operating as intelligence fronts occasionally do genuine detective work). For example, a real and perfectly legitimate firm called Procom seems to have gotten some Pentagon business via Wilkes. Procom offered a testimonial to the fine work of Mirror Labs, whose web sites offer data storage and networking -- which is what Procom does. Apparently, Procom officials felt somewhat obligated to donate to Republican causes to keep getting this business.

So: Is Mirror Labs really real? And if so, just how real?

My informant says she applied for a gig with a firm by that name in 1991. The firm was, at that time, a software provider.

The net-traceable history of the Wilkes incarnation of Mirror Labs begins roughly a decade after that point. On their sites they advertised themselves, in vague terms, as a testing facility. They also bragged, in vague terms, about having something to do with data storage and networking. Nothing about software. The addresses differed.

So we may be talking about two separate entities. More to come.

Sports and the FBI. I haven't time to check out one lead that was passed along to me by someone who seems to prefer anonymity. So I sent the data on to other researchers. I will now make it available to you. Have at it:

A company called Horizon Sports Technologies sued Wilkes for a goodly amount of money earlier this year. I do not yet know what prompted the suit.

Oddly enough, this same firm (Horizon) also played a key role in an undercover FBI "sting" operation:

SAN DIEGO — Local sporting good executives reportedly worked as undercover FBI informants in an investigation of global price-fixing by makers of carbon fiber, a crucial material in the U.S. defense industry.

Executives at Horizon Sports Technologies said that for nearly two years they wore wires and recorded phone conversations with representatives of the carbon fiber companies, The San Diego Union-Tribune reported Sunday.

The strong, lightweight material is used in satellites, stealth aircraft and a wide range of other military equipment. It’s also used in graphite golf club shafts, bicycle frames and race cars.

Did this sting have anything to do with Wilkes? I don't know.

Worth noting: Group W Advisors lobbied on behalf of a company called Optimum Composite Design -- another firm with a tell-little website. The name may suggest a relationship to the defense-related materials which attracted the FBI's attention.

So far as I have been able to trace, all of the other companies to receive the lobbying favors of Group W Advisors were Wilkes' subsidiaries. I don't know if that can be said of Optimum Composite Design.

Update: A reader tells me that Horizon Sports and Optimum Composite may have shared the same address! This matter appears to go into odd, deep places...

Even if the aforementioned FBI sting operation and the Wilkes mystery have no linkage, I'm willing to bet that someone over at Horizon can talk up a storm about Brent Wilkes.

Incidentally, here's the official list of defendants in the case:

GROUP W ADVISORS INC
ADCS INC
ARCHER DEFENSE TECHNOLOGIES INC
GELWIX, MAX
PERFECTWAVE TECHNOLOGIES LLC
WILKES, BRENT R

Group W Advisors is the defense lobbying subsidiary. What possible interaction, I wonder, could that firm have had with Horizon Sports? One senses that a strange tale rests behind this matter...

An "in" with the Agency. Lukery at wotisitgood4 has done some expert checking on this matter. He reports that the Archer Logistics web site (which, as noted earlier, did not have the "look and feel of real") went up circa July 2004 -- yet at that time, the out-of-nowhere firm was already receiving high-level CIA contracts.

Gee. Isn't it nice to have friends?

Having tried repeatedly to speak to someone at Archer Logistics (hey, it's our tax money; why shouldn't we give 'em a call?) I feel obligated to repeat lukery's wonderful observation:

As with all the Wilkes Group websites, the Archer site doesnt offer very much information. They do claim that "Archer Logistics has also developed a unique delivery structure that can provide turnaround times of 24 hours in cases of extreme need." Unfortunately, nobody answers the telephone there - so i guess they can offer 24 hour help - but apparently the clock only starts ticking once you've been able to contact them...

Finally: Our story goes gay. Remember the squib about that possible "hot pillow" operation at the Watergate hotel? Remember the strong suggestion that pols and other interested parties might have been "entertained" at this venue?

Well, on a completely unrelated note, stalwart Young Republican hard-rightist Michael Mack, 31, who works for Group W Advisors, may also be the same Michael Mack who co-owns a dance club called Club Montage. The club describes its offerings thus: "Full of hot young gay boys, great dance music, food and a fun environment in downtown San Diego, California." Apparently, gay porn has been shot there during off-hours.

Do I have a problem with any of this? Of course not. But -- if the two Macks are indeed one and the same -- the Jesus voters who get the Young Republican newsletter may have their own views on the matter.

Are there any other individuals involved with the Wilkes operation who have taken noteworthy stances on gay issues? Perhaps. The Washington Blade says that none other than Duke Cunningham himself is...well, why don't I let the Blade tell the story?

What you won't read about in these mainstream press accounts is the other double life led by the closet case, Duke, the anti-gay conservative.

Cunningham, who is married with grown children, has admitted to romantic, loving relationships with men, both during his Vietnam military service and as a civilian. That was the remarkable story that this publication reported two years ago, when Elizabeth Birch, the former Human Rights Campaign leader, inadvertently outed Cunningham at a gay rights forum.

Birch never mentioned Cunningham’s name, but she talked about a rabidly anti-gay congressman who asked to meet privately with her in the midst of a controversy over his use in a speech on the floor of the House the term "homos" to describe gays who have served in the military.

Alone with Birch and an HRC staffer, the unnamed congressman shared that he had loved men during his life. In telling the story, Birch offered up a few too many details about the closeted congressman.

A few Google searches later, the Blade reported that it had to be Cunningham, whose career was pockmarked with bizarre gay pronouncements, including a reference to the rectal treatment he received for prostate cancer, something he told an audience "was just not natural, unless maybe you’re Barney Frank."