Aug. 29 (UPI) -- Randy "Duke" Cunningham, a decorated Vietnam War pilot and U.S. House member convicted of corruption, has died. He was 83.
Cunningham, the inspiration fo Tom Cruise's character Maverick in the film Top Gun, died Wednesday at a hospital in Little Rock, Ark., after an illness, the San Diego Union reported.
He represented the San Diego area in Congress for 15 years until 1990,
In 2005, Cunningham pleaded guilty to federal corruption charges and spent 8 1/2 years in prison, mostly at a minimum-security work camp in Tucson, Ariz. He admitted to accepting $2.4 million in illegal gifts from defense contractors in exchange for government contracts and other favors.
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