A military intelligence center in Martinsville caught up in the controversy over illegal campaign contributions to U.S. Rep. Virgil Goode appears to be in danger of closing.

Goode, R-Rocky Mount, confirmed in a written statement that the Department of Defense has chosen not to renew a contract for the Foreign Supplier Assessment Center, which was created with his help to check out the backgrounds of non-U.S. suppliers of military equipment to the Pentagon.

Goode, a member of the House Appropriations Committee, sought $3.6 million in federal funds for the center in 2003 that eventually went to defense contractor MZM Inc. of Washington D.C.

At the time, Goode was receiving more campaign contributions linked to MZM than any other donor, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, a non-partisan group that tracks campaign spending.

The president of MZM, Mitchell Wade, pleaded guilty in February to bribing a California congressman with cash and gifts in exchange for lucrative defense contracts that were steered to MZM. Wade also admitted that he made illegal campaign contributions to Goode — something the congressman said he was "shocked and amazed" to learn of.

Goode has since donated to charity the $90,500 that he received from MZM’s political action committee, its employees and their family members.

After MZM’s troubles came to light, the company was bought by Athena Innovative Solutions, which has been operating the Martinsville facility for nearly a year. Goode’s statement included few details on why the Department of Defense chose not to renew a contract for Athena.

"I cannot help but believe that the recent negative publicity surrounding the president of the former owner of the property contributed to DoD’s decision," Goode said.

An official with Athena did not immediately respond to a call today. A spokeswoman for the Department of Defense asked that all questions about the Martinsville facility be submitted in writing. As of 11:30 today, there had been no response.