The alleged bribery scandal in Alaska that’s ensnared Sen. Ted Stevens’ (R-AK) son Ben gets more stunning by the day.
Today, the Anchorage Daily News reveals that a top executive at the company in the center of the fiasco, Veco Corp., in May sat in on the state legislature’s handling of an oil tax proposal — “directing traffic” from the gallery by passing notes and making arm-twisting phone calls to legislators on the floor.
And in years prior, the exec — Bill Allen — was such a presence in the state legislature that the body passed a regulation-weakening package dubbed “the Bill Allen bill,” which exempted him from earlier requirements that he file as a lobbyist and restrict his giving.
For its part, Veco’s public line on the FBI probe, said to focus on possible vote-buying by the company, is that to its knowledge it has never done anything “improper or illegal.”
“Veco regrets if those efforts could be construed as wrong,” ADN quotes the company as saying, “especially in view of the fact that the right to participate actively in the political process is something treasured by all Americans.”