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Stevens' Friend That Testified Is Also Business Partner
Anchorage real estate developer Bob Penney, who testified before a grand jury about the bribery scandal in Alaska, is good to his friend Sen. Ted Stevens (R-AK).
So good that he brought Stevens in on a real estate deal that fetched the senior senator a 566% return on a $15,000 investment in just five years. The investment, reported by The Anchorage Daily News in 2004, sheds some light on the financial ties between the two (via Nexis):
Penney said he and his business partners invited Stevens to join them in "appreciation for all he's done for Alaska and the country. We respect him very, very much."
The group of investors purchased a 96-acre plot 30 miles outside of Salt Lake City, Utah in a growing area with a plan to sell off individual pieces over the course of ten years. Stevens' $15,000 ballooned to at least $100,000 and possibly as much as $250,000.
The real estate deal is not the only financial endeavor between the two. Penney is also part of a group of investors called Alaska's Great Eagle (a nod to Stevens' days as a pilot in WWII) who bought a race horse with the senator and former chief executive of Veco, Bill Allen.
While Veco oversaw the renovation of Stevens' Girdwood, Alaska home, the horse's manager, Bob Persons checked in on the remodeling project while Stevens was in Washington.
Persons was ordered by the Washington grand jury to produce documents going back more than eight years, including all letters, e-mails and other documents involving Ted, his wife, Catherine, or Ben Stevens. Specifically mentioned were records about a race horse partnership, Alaska's Great Eagle, he manages for Ted Stevens, Allen, Allen's son Mark, Penney and others.
So far, the main focus of the Stevens investigation has focused on the Veco remodeling project.
Comments (11)
Steve5117 wrote on June 22, 2007 9:36 AM:Testing Too Mrs. P from two days ago...
Mrs. Panstreppon
Some more info on Rick Kell
http://navysports.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/052806aaa.html
Rick is the producer of the U of Maryland basketball coach's radio program. Looks like fun too, doing broadcasts from different bars in the Baltimore-Washington metro area.
"Williams helped jumpstart the original tour, but was not able to attend because of a prior engagement. Rick Kell, who is the executive producer of the Gary Williams TV Show, is credited with developing the idea and bringing all the pieces together."
Operation Hardwood appears to be continuing but I can't find anything current mentioning Rick. I also ran across "Operation Enduring Christmas" and this that I thought might interest you...
http://opchristmas.org/downloads/503DOC.pdf
I also read some of the letters sent to the judge on behalf of Griles and wondered why Rick Kell didn't write one?
I'm in Florida and will be going to the Operation Wounded Warrior office to ask if anyone there know Rick Kell
jhickey wrote on June 22, 2007 9:40 AM:When in the Navy pay day was called When The Eagle Shits. I guess that was everyday for Sen. Stevens.
codeword Screw You got that right
Steve5117 wrote on June 22, 2007 9:43 AM:Testing Too
FlyOnTheWall wrote on June 22, 2007 10:08 AM:Stevens has told the press he received $150k for the sale of his quarter share; that's a 1,000% return on investment. It's also worth noting that he was a limited partner - he bore no risk for any debts or failure, but stood to share equally in the potential rewards.
Mrs Panstreppon wrote on June 22, 2007 11:03 AM:Second attempt.
Steve, Rick Kell did write a letter to the court but it is in Exhibits Vol. II as Exhibit B-8 - see p. 53 of the the Griles memo linked below.
Wouldn't Kell have to get permission from the DoD to go ahead with Operation Coaches and Warriors? The DoD would have to provide a databse with the names and addresses of all of the injured Iraq war vets for the program to work.
As an injured vet, what is your opinion on the DoD handing out personal information about injured war vets to Kell and Griles?
In any case, if Kell doesn't have DoD permission to go ahead with Operation Coaches and Warriors, he has some nerve pitching it to the court as a viable charitable operation.
Rick Kell, btw, never responded to my email request for more information about Operation Coaches and Warriors, not that I thought he would.
I hope you are enjoying Florida! Ask the folks at WWP about how hard it is to obtain a database of injured Iraq war vets with home addresses, phone numbers etc.
Chabuka wrote on June 22, 2007 11:58 AM:"For all he's done for Alaska and his country"?? Its obvious to me that Stevens did a hell of a lot more for himself....what a crooked little man
Degg2 wrote on June 22, 2007 1:29 PM:This is just like Whitewater, except Stevens put some money in the pot ($15,000) and actually realized a gain, a significant gain in fact.
Ken Starr, calling Ken Starr.
Security code: please
Ed*ard Teller wrote on June 22, 2007 1:35 PM:This will be my third attempt at posting this comment:
Bob Penney was one of the sleaziest of operators in Anchorage during the pipeline boom era. He made slumlords like Bob Gonder seem like Donald Friggin' Trump. He was so lowlife, Pete Zamarello called him a "flatfish" to his face. I was there. He was reputed to have ties to mob drug and prostitution activities back then, but it might be hard to prove it now - the people who told me about that are all dead now. How he became "respectable" probably has more than a little bit to do with knowledge he gleaned on the secret lives of southcentral Alaska's key players.
Ed*ard Teller wrote on June 22, 2007 1:39 PM:fourth try here:
This will be my third attempt at posting this comment:
Bob Penney was one of the sleaziest of operators in Anchorage during the pipeline boom era. He made slumlords like Bob Gonder seem like Donald Friggin' Trump. He was so lowlife, Pete Zamarello called him a "flatfish" to his face. I was there. He was reputed to have ties to mob drug and prostitution activities back then, but it might be hard to prove it now - the people who told me about that are all dead now. How he became "respectable" probably has more than a little bit to do with knowledge he gleaned on the secret lives of southcentral Alaska's key players.
Ed*ard Teller wrote on June 22, 2007 1:42 PM:fifth attempt:
This will be my third attempt at posting this comment:
Bob Penney was one of the sleaziest of operators in Anchorage during the pipeline boom era. He made slumlords like Bob Gonder seem like Donald Friggin' Trump. He was so lowlife, Pete Zamarello called him a "flatfish" to his face. I was there. He was reputed to have ties to mob drug and prostitution activities back then, but it might be hard to prove it now - the people who told me about that are all dead now. How he became "respectable" probably has more than a little bit to do with knowledge he gleaned on the secret lives of southcentral Alaska's key players.
Ed*ard Teller wrote on June 22, 2007 1:52 PM:sorry about being redundant...feel free to delete the repeats.