Schaeffer Cox

Judge Won't Toss Weapons Evidence In Schaeffer Cox Case

Jillian Rayfield | February 10, 2012, 5:14PM

Second Amendment Task Force organizer Schaeffer Cox prepares to address fellow gun rights supporters on Thursday, March 5, 2009, at Friends Community Church.

A federal judge will not grant a motion by Schaeffer Cox and other alleged members of the Alaska Peacemakers Militia to throw out evidence obtained from multiple searches, which turned up weapons that are key to the prosecution's case.

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Alaska

Wasilla Councilman Recalled After He Drunkenly Trashed Hotel Room

Jillian Rayfield | February 8, 2012, 12:14PM

Members of an Alaska Tea Party group successfully pushed for a recall of Wasilla City Councilman Steve Menard, after he admitted to drunkenly trashing a hotel room he was staying in during a trip on city business.

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Schaeffer Cox

Alaska Sovereign Citizens Indicted On Murder Conspiracy Charges

Jillian Rayfield | January 24, 2012, 2:15PM

Second Amendment Task Force organizer Francis "Schaeffer" Cox

Schaeffer Cox and two of his followers in the Alaska Peacemaker Militia appeared in court on Monday expecting to file more motions to dismiss the charges against them. Instead they were greeted with additional indictments by a federal grand jury charging them with conspiring to kill government officials, including law enforcement officers.

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Schaeffer Cox

Schaeffer Cox: FBI Informants Kidnapped Me, Turned My Life Into The Truman Show

Jillian Rayfield | December 22, 2011, 5:57AM

Second Amendment Task Force organizer Schaeffer Cox prepares to address fellow gun rights supporters on Thursday, March 5, 2009, at Friends Community Church.

Alaska militia leader Schaeffer Cox is asking the court to throw out FBI recordings made by a confidential informant because the informant took actions that were "analogous to kidnapping" and turned Cox's life into a version of the Jim Carrey movie The Truman Show.

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Don Young

Ethics Committee Closes Loophole Don Young Exploited

Ryan J. Reilly | December 21, 2011, 9:11AM

Rep. Don Young (R-AK)

Rep. Don Young (R-AK) didn't break any rules when he accepted $60,000 -- far over the $5,000 limit -- in donations to his legal fund from entities that were controlled by the same family, the House Ethics Committee found this week. But they're making sure that other members can't exploit the same loophole in the future.

Young, according to the House Ethics Committee's report, received the donations in an envelope from fishing buddy Gary Chouest, who is president of a marine transportation company.

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Don Young

Watch A Historian Mock GOP Rep. Don Young For Going To Community College

Jillian Rayfield | November 23, 2011, 4:49PM

Rep. Don Young (R-AK)

Historian and Professor Doug Brinkley made Alaska Rep. Don Young (R) really really mad during a heated exchange at a House hearing, when Brinkley mocked Young for going to community college.

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Schaeffer Cox

Militia Leader Cox Says FBI Source Pushed Attack, 'Fanned The Flames Of Government Overthrow'

Ryan J. Reilly | November 17, 2011, 6:05AM

Second Amendment Task Force organizer Francis "Schaeffer" Cox

An Alaska militia leader accused in a plot against the government is accusing an FBI cooperating witness of "pushing and pushing" him to mobilize against the government and fanning the flames of government overthrow.

Francis "Schaeffer" Cox recalls in an affidavit filed in federal court on Tuesday that he (accompanied by Jeremy Baker and Les Zerbe) met with gun dealer Bill Fulton in Fairbanks in August 2010. Cox says Fulton was in town to participate in a fundraiser for the Interior Conservative Coalition that was being held at Far North Tactical, which is owned by Fulton "protege" Aaron Bennett.

Fulton is one of the FBI's confidential informants in the case. You may remember him as part of Republican Senate nominee Joe Miller's security detail, who handcuffed and detained Alaska Dispatch editor Tony Hopfinger for trying to question and videotape Miller.

Cox's attorney Nelson Traverso wrote in a motion to dismiss the indictment that Fulton's "complete role has yet to be disclosed."

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Drew Pritt

Alleged Con Artist Drops Out Of AR House Race

Jillian Rayfield | November 4, 2011, 5:46PM

Payphones in Arkansas

Drew Pritt has dropped out of the campaign for House in Arkansas after what he calls "malicious gossip" on the internet regarding an investigation into whether he stole money from a fundraiser for a wounded veterans.

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Mary Ann Morgan

Another AK Militia Activist And Sovereign Citizen Linked To Schaeffer Cox Arrested

Jillian Rayfield | November 3, 2011, 6:02AM

Second Amendment Task Force organizer Schaeffer Cox prepares to address fellow gun rights supporters on Thursday, March 5, 2009, at Friends Community Church.

A member of the Alaska militia movement and a sovereign citizen connected with Schaeffer Cox was arrested on a weapons charge while trying to cross into Canada.

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Alaska

Officials: Soldier Arrested In Espionage Probe Didn't Have Very High Clearance

Jillian Rayfield | November 2, 2011, 4:27PM

Military Policeman And Espionage Suspect William Millay

Military officials say that a 22-year old soldier arrested in an espionage probe did not have access to sensitive intelligence, according to NBC News.

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Arkansas

Arkansas House Candidate Accused Of Con Job In Alaska

Jillian Rayfield | October 31, 2011, 6:05AM

Andrew Caleb Pritt

A serial campaigner running for Congress in Arkansas is under investigation in Alaska for fraud, after allegedly pocketing money from a fundraiser for a wounded veteran.

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Schaeffer Cox

Feds Say AK 'Sovereign Citizen' Militia Leader Boasted Of 'Nifty' Bombs, Lasers, Boats

Jillian Rayfield | September 12, 2011, 11:39AM

Schaeffer Cox

Federal officials say they first set their sights on Alaska militia leader Schaeffer Cox after a series of speeches he gave describing his plan to overthrow the government using a 3500-member militia, and weapons like bombs, lasers and and "all sorts of nifty stuff."

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Steve Menard

Wasilla City Councilman Won't Resign After Drunkenly Trashing Hotel Room

Jillian Rayfield | August 24, 2011, 3:58PM

Steve Menard, a City Councilman in Wasilla, Alaska, is being forced to repay the city for damages to a Sitka hotel room that was found trashed after his stay there.

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Alaska

Attorneys For Schaeffer Cox Want Murder Conspiracy Charges Thrown Out

Jillian Rayfield | July 7, 2011, 2:05PM

Schaeffer Cox

Attorneys for Schaeffer Cox have asked a court to throw out murder conspiracy charges against their client, who is accused of plotting to kill a federal judge, because of the way the grand jury was conducted.

Cox, a self-proclaimed sovereign citizen and leader of the Alaska Peacemakers Militia, was arrested in March, along with Coleman Barney, Lonnie and Karen Vernon, and Michael O. Anderson, for allegedly stockpiling weapons as part of a plot to kill two Alaska State Troopers, an IRS employee, and the federal judge.

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Alaska

State Trial Of AK 'Sovereign Citizens' May Be Delayed Until Next Year

Jillian Rayfield | June 28, 2011, 10:21AM

Schaeffer Cox

Attorneys for the group of Alaska sovereign citizens who allegedly plotted to murder a federal judge are pushing for the trial to be delayed until after the federal charges against them have been resolved.

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Sarah Palin

Sarah Palin Emails To Be Finally Released

Eric Lach | June 10, 2011, 6:45AM

Sarah Palin

Friday is the day the state of Alaska is finally releasing the emails it has been holding onto from Sarah Palin's time as governor. Media outlets first requested the documents more than two years ago, when Palin was running for vice president.

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Alaska

Alaska Finally Ready To Release Palin's Old Emails

Eric Lach | June 1, 2011, 9:36AM

Sarah Palin

The state of Alaska will soon release more than 24,000 pages of Sarah Palin's emails from her time as governor, documents that media outlets first requested more than two years ago, when Palin was running for vice president.

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Sovereign Citizens

Two AK Sovereign Citizens Lose Tax Case Which Allegedly Led To Plot To Kill Judge

Jillian Rayfield | May 31, 2011, 12:49PM

Lonnie and Karen Vernon, two sovereign citizens and militia members in Alaska, lost a court case over $180,000 in taxes they owe to the IRS, a case that allegedly led to a plot to kill a U.S. District Judge, an IRS employee, and two state troopers.

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Schaeffer Cox

Six AK Militia Suspects Appear In Court After Pleading Not Guilty To Alleged Plot To Kill Federal Judge

Jillian Rayfield | April 6, 2011, 2:47PM

Schaeffer Cox

All six of the Alaska militia members accused of plotting to kill two state troopers and a federal judge appeared together in court for the first time Tuesday, after five of them pleaded not guilty to the charges late last month.

Investigators said in a court filing last week that they have over 130 hours of audio and video recordings, among other evidence, garnered with the help of two confidential informants over a 10-month investigation of the suspects, who were members of the Alaska Peacemakers Militia.

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Schaeffer Cox

Feds: Alaska Militia Members Also Plotted To Kill An IRS Employee

Jillian Rayfield | March 18, 2011, 4:20PM

Second Amendment Task Force organizer Francs "Schaeffer" Cox

The U.S. Attorney for Alaska has announced new federal charges, including conspiracy to kill an IRS employee, against four of the five militia members arrested in Fairbanks, Alaska last week. The militia members allegedly stockpiled weapons as part of a plot to kill multiple Alaska State Troopers and a federal judge.

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Alaska

Court Docs Say AK Militia Members Plotted To Use 'Twice The Force' Against Law Enforcement

Jillian Rayfield | March 14, 2011, 4:00PM

Second Amendment Task Force organizer Francs "Schaeffer" Cox

Five suspected Alaska militia members arrested last week were arraigned in court on Friday, and the criminal complaints in the case reveal how they allegedly stockpiled weapons while plotting to keep their leader, Schaeffer Cox, from being arrested after skipping his court date.

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Ted Stevens

Feds Says More To Come From Ted Stevens FBI File

Ryan J. Reilly | February 16, 2011, 11:45AM

Fmr. Sen Ted Stevens (R-AK)

The release last week of the FBI file of the late Sen. Ted Stevens painted a colorful portrait of the long serving Alaska Republican. But noticeably absent from the file were documents from the federal corruption investigation that ended his political career. Not to worry -- the FBI says that part of the file is still in processing and will be released down the line.

An FBI spokesman told the Associated Press that the investigative files were still pending. The news service said it wasn't clear when the new investigative files would be released.

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Ted Stevens

Ted Stevens FBI File Posted

Ryan J. Reilly | February 11, 2011, 10:50AM

Former Sen. Ted Stevens (R-AK)

The FBI just posted the massive FBI file of the late Sen. Ted Stevens (R-AK).

From the FBI:

This release contains approximately 3,600 pages of responsive material; the majority of it--approximately 2,700 pages--consists of public source material from the media file associated with the pending "POLAR PEN" public corruption investigation of the FBI Anchorage Field Office.

The remainder of the release consists of 11 main files from the Anchorage and Washington Field Offices and from FBI Headquarters. The files include material on extortion threats to the senator, press reports and newspaper articles about public corruption, and correspondence between Stevens and the FBI.

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Bill Weimar

FL Sheriff: Corrupt Alaska Mogul Sexually Battered Child, Lives On Boat

Ryan J. Reilly | January 29, 2011, 6:40PM

Bill Weimar, the Alaska halfway house mogul who went to prison for attempting to bribe state politicians, is being sought by Florida police for allegedly sexually battering a child under the age of 12.

The Sarasota County Sheriff's Office this week posted a photo of Weimar, whose last known address was a boat dock, and said they were seeking him on the sexual battery charge. Online records found by TPM show a William C. Weimar has a registered a 59.5 ft recreational boat in the state called "RENEWAL II."

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Alaska

The Palin-Loving World Of Alaska Dentistry And The 112th Congress

Rachel Slajda | January 3, 2011, 3:12PM

Rep.-elect Paul Gosar (R-AZ)

As TPM noted earlier, a new Republican congressman from Arizona has hired two Palin-tied Alaskans to run his office in D.C.

The hirings have everything to do with the close-knit, pro-Palin world of Alaskan dentistry.

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Ted Stevens

Photos Show Wreckage Of Ted Stevens Plane Crash

Ryan J. Reilly | December 21, 2010, 10:02AM

Through a Freedom of Information Act request, TPM obtained government reports on the plane crash that killed Sen. Ted Stevens (R-AK), which included these photos of the wreckage. Some have been published before, and some haven't. Several are available below.

[TPM SLIDESHOW: The Senator From Alaska: Ted Stevens' Political Career]

Much of the information included in the reports obtained by TPM were included in the Washington Post's comprehensive story of the plane crash, which included interviews with survivors of the accident. Selections from the preliminary report and follow up report on the crash -- which took place on Aug. 9 about 10 miles northeast of Aleknagik, Alaska -- are available here.

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Don Young

Feds Drop Don Young Investigation

Rachel Slajda | August 5, 2010, 9:09AM

Rep. Don Young (R-AK)

Rep. Don Young (R-AK) said yesterday that the Justice Department has dropped its years-long corruption investigation.

The DOJ has been investigating Young since 2007. The probe has reportedly focused on "pig roast" fundraisers organized by former oil executive Bill Allen. Allen told prosecutors last year that he gave gifts to Young, including a $1,000 set of golf clubs, as well as up to $200,000 in illegal campaign contributions.

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Sarah Palin

Palin Spent Almost $4K On Supporters' Sausages

Rachel Slajda | July 13, 2010, 10:05AM

Former GOP Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin.

How do we get on this list?

Sarah Palin's political action committee spent some $3,800 in the past quarter on "gift bag items" from an Alaskan company called Indian Valley Meats, according to SarahPAC's latest FEC reports.

Indian Valley, according to its (drool-worthy) web site, sells gift boxes full of Alaskan meats: smoked salmon, caribou sausage, musk ox jerky, reindeer hot dogs, trail sticks, honey mustard sauce and more.

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Sarah Palin

State Investigator: Palin's Legal Defense Fund Was Illegal

Ben Frumin | June 24, 2010, 6:10PM

Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin

The legal defense fund set up for Sarah Palin when she was governor of Alaska was illegal, an investigator for the state's personnel board announced today.

Investigator Timothy Petumenos found that Palin acted in good faith in setting up the legal defense fund -- but that the fund's website improperly used the word "official," implying the then-governor's endorsement. Petumenos' report comes in response to an ethics complaint filed when Palin was governor.

Palin's lawyer said she'll return the money.

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BP

NYT: BP Moving Ahead With Offshore Alaska Rig Despite Moratorium

Rachel Slajda | June 24, 2010, 11:34AM

The Endicott oil production island in Alaska

The New York Times reports today that BP is moving ahead with a project that would drill a two-mile-deep well off the coast of Alaska. How is BP getting around the moratorium on new offshore drilling? It's building its rig on an island -- a man-made island built by BP -- and declaring it "onshore."

The moratorium was instituted in response to the oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico, a leak BP is legally responsible for. And yet, BP is now the only company allowed to drill a new well in the Arctic.

The moratorium was blocked by a judge, but the Obama administration has challenged the block. Many oil companies are in a holding pattern until the legal challenges are over.

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Don Young

Don Young To GOP: Earmark Ban Schmearmark Ban

Zachary Roth | March 16, 2010, 2:53PM

Rep. Don Young (R-AK)

Rep. Don Young (R-AK) praising earmarks is hardly news. After all, the Alaska lawmaker, whose "generous appetite for legislative pork," was once noted by the New Republic, is a co-sponsor of the Bridge to Nowhere, and bragged of an appropriations bill that he had "stuffed it like a turkey" with homestate spending items.

But these days, Young's pro-earmark position isn't jibing too well with the image the GOP caucus wants to project. Eager to present themselves as more restrained than House Democrats and the Obama administration, House Republicans last week announced a one-year earmark hiatus.

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Endangered Species Act

Alaska Legislature Plans $1.5 Million Astroturf Fight Against Endangered Species Act

Justin Elliott | February 8, 2010, 12:07PM

Seeking to protect the oil industry, the Alaska state legislature has appropriated $1.5 million to fund an astroturf campaign to weaken the Endangered Species Act and put on a conference questioning the listing of polar bears as a threatened species.

Over the objections of some members who warned of "PR damage" to the state, a group of lawmakers late last week decided to move ahead with reviewing bids from public relations firms for the polar bear contract, the Anchorage Daily News reported.

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Todd Palin

Internal Emails Show Robust Role For 'Shadow Governor' Todd Palin

Justin Elliott | February 5, 2010, 10:40AM

Todd Palin

A nice get from MSNBC.com: a huge batch of internal e-mails released in response to an Alaska open records request show that Todd Palin played a big role in his wife's administration, often corresponding directly with the governor's staff on matters ranging from appointments to contract negotiations.

Todd Palin was known as the "shadow governor" and was a key figure in the Troopergate scandal that dogged Sarah Palin during the 2008 campaign. In recent months, there's evidence that he is still his wife's most important protector: he personally drew up the now-famous "banned list" barring unfriendly media from a Palin book event in Wasilla.

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Bill Allen

Star Witness In Alaska Corruption Cases Begins Prison Term

Justin Elliott | January 13, 2010, 2:25PM

Bill Allen, former owner of VECO

Bill Allen, the Alaska businessman whose secretly taped declaration, "Ted, I love you," was played during the Ted Stevens corruption trial, reported to prison in California yesterday, the Anchorage Daily News reports.

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Lisa Murkowski

Bushies-Turned-Lobbyists Helped Murkowski Write Anti-Enviro Measure

Zachary Roth | January 12, 2010, 11:49AM

Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK)

Two former Bush EPA officials -- now industry lobbyists -- helped Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) write a measure aimed at blocking the agency from limiting global warming emissions.

Jeffrey Holmstead and Roger Martella, Jr. helped the Alaska senator write an amendment that she intended to offer last fall, which would have prevented the Environmental Protection Agency from regulating carbon dioxide as a pollutant under the Clean Air Act, the Washington Post reported yesterday. Holmstead, an assistant administrator for air and radiation a EPA during the Bush years, is now a lobbyist at Bracewell & Guiliani, where his clients include Southern Company and Duke Energy. Martella, who was the Bush EPA's general counsel, now lobbbies at Sidley Austin, representing timber industry interests, among others.

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The Palins

REVEALED: See Going Rogue Event 'Banned List' Drawn Up By Todd Palin

Justin Elliott | December 30, 2009, 6:23PM

Todd and Sarah Palin. "Banned list," inset.

We've just gotten our hands on the so-called "banned list" that was responsible for two journalists getting booted from a Sarah Palin book event in Wasilla last week. Check it out right here.

And we've got new details that shed light on Todd Palin's role as his wife's chief enforcer.

The "coordinating instructions" document, whose authenticity was confirmed by James Hastings, the Wasilla official who runs the arena and who wrote the instructions, refers to a "DENIED ACCESS LIST PER TODD PALIN." And, after listing three names, continues:

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Sarah Palin

Alaska Journo: Palin's Banned Media List Written By Todd Palin

Eric Kleefeld | December 24, 2009, 4:59PM

Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin

Further details have emerged about the banning of undesirable reporters from the Sarah Palin book tour event in Palin's hometown of Wasilla, after Alaska-based photojournalist and videographer Dennis Zaki found himself on the list.

We reported that Zaki was turned away from Palin's homecoming event in Alaska on Tuesday. Zaki checked in at the media window with a blogger friend, and they were told they had to leave. "They were anxious to get us out the door quickly," blogger Jesse Griffin told TPMmuckraker. The two men didn't fight the decision.

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Alaska

Media On Palin's 'Banned List' Ejected From Going Rogue Event

Justin Elliott | December 23, 2009, 12:45PM

Sarah Palin at a book signing in Columbus, OH on November 20, 2009.

Sarah Palin's war on the media continues?

The woman who once called on the press to "quit makin' things up" took it a step further yesterday by allegedly banning four members of the media from a book event in Wasilla, Alaska.

On a four-person "banned list" -- yes, that term was actually used by police -- were a blogger, a videographer, a local radio host, and another person who hasn't been identified. TPMmuckraker reached two of the four by phone in Alaska this morning. Here's what happened.

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Jack Abramoff

Supremes Could Weaken Key Anti-Corruption Law That Helped Convict Abramoff, Jefferson, Others

Zachary Roth | December 9, 2009, 12:35PM

Fmr. Gov. Rod Blagojevich (D-IL) and fmr. Rep. William Jefferson (D-LA)

An anti-corruption law that has been central to the convictions of numerous public officials and corporate executives in recent years could be at risk of being struck down or narrowed after it was met with extreme skepticism by the U.S. Supreme Court yesterday.

The honest services law, enacted in 1988, makes it a crime "to deprive another of the intangible right of honest services." Prosecutors frequently use it against politicians or corporate executives believed to have defrauded their constituents or employers. Jack Abramoff, former congressman William Jefferson, former Enron CEO Jeff Skilling, and newspaper magnate Conrad Black all have been convicted, at least in part, of honest services fraud in the last few years.

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Bill Allen

Docs: Feds Pressed Police To End Child-Sex Probe Of Bill Allen

Zachary Roth | October 28, 2009, 2:47PM

Bill Allen, former owner of VECO

Hat tip Alaska Dispatch...

Did U.S. prosecutors pressure police to end a child-sex-crimes investigation in order not to endanger the federal probe of corruption in Alaska politics, then withhold evidence about the episode? That's what court documents filed on behalf of a former state lawmaker convicted in the investigation are charging.

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