Comments (24)

mo2 wrote on June 22, 2007 6:42 PM:

Last fall - as in fall of 2006, as in when the USA purge list started being acted upon, as in when John McKay got fired?

What are the dates of the grand jury subpoenas? How does this fall in relation to the purge list?

Semanticleo wrote on June 22, 2007 9:19 PM:

It IS about oil, fish oil.

plainjane wrote on June 22, 2007 11:12 PM:

Nepotism has its privileges.

Dr. Wu wrote on June 22, 2007 11:47 PM:

Has Stevens done anything in the last ten years that wasn't illegal? Good Grief!

JEP wrote on June 23, 2007 12:14 AM:

"Former chief executive of Veco pled guilty just a few weeks ago to bribery charges, including paying Stevens $240,000 in "consulting fees" as a bribe for favorable legislation. The media focus on the probe in Alaska has so far been on Veco, but it looks like there is plenty of fishery work for the grand jury to investigate."

Something smells fishy in Anchorage.

...so what does it take,(a RICO case?) to charge the OTHER END of that confessed bribe with ACCEPTING bribes?

Surely an indictment will follow soon...

anon, too wrote on June 23, 2007 12:25 AM:

Is he really wearing a Looney Tunes tie?

anon, too wrote on June 23, 2007 12:28 AM:

Is he really wearing a Looney Tunes tie?

Flagstaff Insurance wrote on June 23, 2007 12:51 AM:

What is it with Alaska. Didn't they want that boondoggle bridge for multi-millions paid for with tax payer money that even the residents of the tiny Alaska village did not want? Bad water up there, maybe.

ryan wrote on June 23, 2007 12:59 AM:

His dad wears an incredible hulk tie on the senate floor.

Cole wrote on June 23, 2007 1:16 AM:

So, another big fishlett is on the line. That's the apple, follow it back to the tree.

Barry from Alaska wrote on June 23, 2007 1:56 AM:

Hmmm, seems like that is almost year old or older news.

http://www.ptarmigannest.net/?p=28

Pretty well known up here.

salmonshark wrote on June 23, 2007 5:23 AM:

Yeah , the story has been around. But now it's the Federal Grand Jury on it.

I think they've just scratched the surface.

WhichTruth wrote on June 23, 2007 5:26 AM:

Alaska has had the misfortune of being a red state for some time. We are working on painting it blue as fast as we can. The truth finally coming out will help tremendously.

It is old news here. we've just been waiting on the evidence to be put together and processed.

We all need to take a good hard look at all our elected officials, and give them the sniff test. Corruption seems pandemic in our state governments and our federal government.

We went too long without paying attention and holding them accountable. We owe a lot to folks like Ray Metcalfe for persevering.

None other wrote on June 23, 2007 10:51 AM:

It has been a joy to watch the republicans self-destruct.

In 2002(?) when all the republicans in Alaska could say were "the stars are aligned, the stars are aligned" - the AK Governor and legislature were now controlled by R's and the President and Congress were now controlled by R's. Five years later, we see they not only didn't accomplish a damn thing - the power got in their veins and they self destructed.

If we could only bag more from the white house, my day would be made.

Cecil Graham wrote on June 23, 2007 10:59 AM:

If you will remember the temper tantrum US Sen Ted Stevens pulled on the floor of the Senate last year when it was discovered that he stacked the appropriations bill with his BRIDGE TO NO WHERE. He threatened to resign becaause the American people was'nt gonna be bulliedand bamboozled by this crooked politician any longer. Last but no means least he also reminded his fellow Senators of the favours he did for them when he was Appropriations Chairman. Too bad sleaze bag did'nt take himself at his word and resigned.

Dr. Republican wrote on June 23, 2007 12:30 PM:

The apple certainly does not far fall from the tree. He needs approval/recognition from dad. The only way to do this is to do what daddy does and line his pockets with dirty money.
Hmm..........If you want to fish or drill for oil in Alaska you have to pay off the Stevens family for the privilege first. I'm sure they have their greedy little paws in others pockets up and down the Alaskan food chain.
Are they related to the Bushes?

iris b wrote on June 23, 2007 1:31 PM:

senator stevens....Keep this anonymous please do not post I am internet stupid, but an organizer for injured workers alliance alaska author of a book on how insurance carriers routinly fraud injured workers . One of us had an airtight case for medical care. the as-usual crooked compensation board (under investigation again five times since the pipeline) denied him. He went to court to appeal. the judge took a recess after seeing dynamite insurance fraud well documented, that the board did not want to notice. After the phone call recess, upon his return, he denied the benefits to the claimant. it seems the attorney for the insurance co had been his camapaign manager. A gag order was slapped on the claimant.. whose family and health were destroyed.

Duckman GR wrote on June 23, 2007 2:15 PM:

Barry,

If it's old news, why are these crooks still running free?

Somebody not give a shit enough to do something about it?

Politicians need some form of performance based pay, salary plus incentive bonuses based on bills passed, people served, benefits to country, some formula that will be complicated but I don't know, there's got to be some way of reigning in their greed.

First Alaskan man wrote on June 23, 2007 4:05 PM:

Dude!

parrot wrote on June 23, 2007 5:47 PM:

I guess Stevens just got careless about accepting bribes...it was so easy in the past...

SpongeBlog wrote on June 24, 2007 2:36 PM:

Picture Benito sitting alone at his Apple in the basement in Anchorage, waiting for them to come with handcuffs, hacking and blogging to trash this site with gutter blogs to destroy credible posts. That's what this all reads like - completely different than normal TPM posts. It is an attempt to cut off speaking truth to power like in AG/Gonzales case. Somebody is mad as hell and doesn't want TPM to become the site Congressional offices tap to stay abreast of tevensGate.

Media Viagra wrote on June 24, 2007 9:48 PM:

Ted stayed and Native Corps Hotel in Rural Alaska-not reported more than one day in Local paper. He used their jets to get there too! Unreported

Ted's former Staffers dad, former Mayor of Fairbanks Jim Hayes under indictment-misappropriation of Federal money! Reported once in the ADN. Never did a story on Fairbanks mayor's son was on Ted Appropriations staff then moved to other Senators Staff who would be Senior on Appropriations.

Ted's ownership in buildings that are leased to Federal agencies?

Ted's ownership in military housing projects in Alaska?
How did Ted’s staffer Trevor McCabe buy that building in Seward before the Feds?

Christ, where to begin with Ben Stevens. Corporate money flowed to Special Olympics and Ben gleamed $750,000 from special needs kids!

Local Media- No Outrage.In fact, KTUU and ADN have not connected the dots with ANY expose on Ted, Don, Murkowski family and VECO finance

Everyone knows VECO won every no bid contract from the mid 1990s on. If you did not pay into the political machine. You did not play! They won't even do a story on local candidate that own thier lives to VECO. NOT ONE FOLLOW UP STORY

Ask anyone in the Oil support business in Anchorage.

Local Media is complicit in all of this. I think editors and reporters must have been on the payroll all these years

KTUU and AND you or either totally useless or very rich in dirty money. Which is it?

Frustrated yet againg wrote on July 11, 2007 11:53 PM:

Look into the relationship of Trevor McCabe and Jeremiah Campbell...business partners and now Jeremiah was appointed to the board of Fisheries. What is with that?

DO NOT LET the Stevens and McCabe families continue to become wealthy at the expense of Alaska and it's people.

I hope the FBI probe and convictions continue to draw the creepy crawlers out from their rocks.

FINALLY time to get them out of here.

Bakunin wrote on September 14, 2007 1:24 AM:

Bill Allen, the corporate executive/VECO owner who handled the Ted Stevens House renovation testified today that he had bribed Ted's son Ben. It's long been known that Ben got almost a quarter of a million bucks from Allen, but this is the first time the public has heard from one of the parties that it was indeed a bribe. Curtains for Uncle Ted?

Allen says he bribed Ben Stevens, two others

By DAN JOLING
The Associated Press

(Published: September 13, 2007)
The former head of one of Alaska's largest oil field service companies admitted in court Thursday to bribing three former Alaska lawmakers, including former Senate President Ben Stevens, the son of U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens.

Former Veco Corp. CEO Bill Allen, 70, testified Thursday in the federal corruption trial of another former lawmaker, Pete Kott. Allen and a former company vice president, Rick Smith, have pleaded guilty to bribing lawmakers and are awaiting sentencing.

On the stand Thursday, Allen said he bribed Ben Stevens, Kott and Vic Kohring but did not elaborate during 15 minutes of testimony. Ben Stevens is under federal investigation but has not been charged.

"Mr. Stevens has consistently said he's not engaged in any of the illegal activity that is alleged by Mr. Allen. He denies it," John Wolfe, Stevens' attorney, told The Associated Press.

The FBI also is investigating a remodeling of the elder Stevens' home in Girdwood. The project doubled the size of the home. According to at least one contractor in the case, invoices were first sent to Veco.

Ted Stevens has said he paid all bills on the home that he received.

Kohring faces trial next month. Allen did not mention another former lawmaker facing bribery charges, Bruce Weyhrauch.

Allen also testified he agreed to cooperate in the corruption investigation of Alaska lawmakers after the FBI promised that his three adult children would not be indicted.

Kott, whose trial began Monday, is charged with doing the bidding of Veco in exchange for money and the promise of a job.

He is accused of turning in a phony invoice to Allen for $7,993, which was used to hire Kott's son as his re-election campaign manager. Kott is accused of taking a check for $1,000 as reimbursement for a campaign donation in the same amount to former Gov. Frank Murkowski. Kott also is accused of accepting a political poll in his re-election big paid for by Veco.

Kott is charged with conspiracy to solicit financial benefits for his service as a legislator, extortion "under color of official right," bribery and wire fraud, which involved improperly discussing legislative business by phone.

Defense attorney James Wendt claims Kott was not aware of the poll and that the flooring check was an advance payment for work that would have been done in late 2006 if the federal investigation had not occurred.

Wendt said Kott committed no crime by working with businessmen and lobbyists toward a goal shared by most Alaskans: passing legislation that would lead to construction of a natural gas pipeline.

Secret electronic recordings played over the trial's first three days show Kott working closely with Allen and Smith over a proposed change in Alaska's crude oil tax. The measure had two key numbers: the rate at which oil would be taxed, and the rate of credit companies could receive tax credit for reinvesting in Alaska with drilling rigs or other structures and equipment.

The measure was the dominant issue of the 2006 legislative session. It was also considered a gateway measure that had to be passed before the Legislature would consider measures leading to construction of natural gas pipeline project tapping the state's vast North Slope natural gas reserves.

That megaproject, on the scale of the 30-year-old trans-Alaska oil pipeline, would have presented Veco with the opportunity to bid on hundreds of millions of dollars' worth on contracts. Allen said on the secret recordings and in court that he considered the pipeline essential to the continued prosperity of not only his company but to Alaska as oil production filling the trans-Alaska pipeline continues to diminish.

Allen spent just minutes Thursday under direct examination by federal prosecutor James Goeke. Unlike his first day on the stand, prosecutors played no wiretapped phone conversations or images and conversations secretly recorded in a room rented by Veco in Juneau's Baranof Hotel.

Goeke simply asked Allen to recall how he had been approached by FBI agents on Aug. 30, 2006, just before agents raided the legislative offices of a half-dozen Alaska legislators and Veco offices.

Allen was told the investigation did not need him, but if he cooperated he would receive considerations.

"Your kids won't be indicted and they would help Veco," Allen said.

Allen has cooperated with the investigation from that day on, he said.

Later on Aug. 30, at the government's request, Allen called Kott with potentially incriminating questions regarding a payment Allen made to Kott through his flooring business. Prosecutors contend Kott inflated an invoice for work never performed on hardwood floors at Allen's home.

The check, according to prosecutors, was destined for Kott's son, whom Kott needed as his campaign manager for his re-election campaign.

"I asked him if he got the money for his son," Allen testified about the phone call that day. Allen said he told by Kott that he received the check.

"I said, 'How did it happen?' He said, 'It was a check from you.' I said, 'I don't think so, Pete,'" Allen said.

The money was to help Kott with his campaign, Allen testified, and Kott did no work for the money, Allen said.

"That's the way I understood it. Yeah," Allen said.

Kott also had expressed to him that he wanted to be a Veco lobbyist and Allen was willing to give him that job, he said. That would not have happened if Kott had suddenly changed his opinion on the oil tax and favored a higher rate.

"He wouldn't have had a job," Allen said.

Allen said his own plea negotiations later involved unsuccessful attempts to help his company and its 4,000 or so employees.

"The executives and myself, they were the ones who done anything," Allen said.

He said he received no promises.

"I asked them repeatedly and they wouldn't do that," Allen said. "I didn't think those people should be punished. They hadn't done anything."