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Stevens Thank You Note Shows Low Cost for Home Job
Things aren't looking good for Sen. Ted Stevens (R-AK).
The Anchorage Daily News reports that the FBI found a thank-you note Stevens hand-wrote to former US Attorney Wev Shea after the White House hosted a dinner in the Republican senator's honor in May. In the June 7th note, Stevens makes it sound like he got a good deal on the 2000 remodeling of his home:
"This is a sad portion of my life -- it will take time to explain," Stevens said in the two-page note. "Catherine and I personally paid over $130,000 for the improvements to our chalet in Girdwood. Someone -- or more than one -- keeps telling the FBI that's not so. Takes time to go back over five years to prove they are wrong."
Stevens has claimed before that there was nothing nefarious about the job, despite oil services Veco Corp. acting as general contractor while Stevens was in Washington.
But the Daily News' story raises pretty clear doubts about how Stevens could have managed to get all the work done for that amount of money:
If $130,000 is an accurate total, it would raise questions about how such a major renovation could have been accomplished within such a tight budget. The carpentry contractor alone said he was paid more than $100,000 by Stevens. Another contractor, who raised up the house to make room for the new first floor and built part of the foundation, said he too was paid by Stevens, though he didn't recall the amount. The earth-moving contractor who prepared the ground for the job also said he was paid by Stevens.That would leave little if any left over for a range of other work that was done, everything from design to plumbing and electric to a new roof. As recently as this week, Stevens declined to answer questions about how the project was billed and financed.
Stevens told reporters recently that he and his wife "paid every bill that was given to us. Every bill that was sent to us has been paid, personally, with our own money, and that's all there is to it." Maybe some bills never made it his way?
Comments (17)
Molly Ivans wrote on August 10, 2007 11:09 AM:Raise Hell !!
jak1 wrote on August 10, 2007 11:09 AM:Oh come on, it's like paying for a coffee with a ten dollar bill and getting change for a twenty. It wasn't Steven's fault that the contractor did more work then they were paid for. After all, it was just a week end project being done by a bunch of friends!
Molly Ivans wrote on August 10, 2007 11:12 AM:Raise Hell !!
TheraP wrote on August 10, 2007 11:21 AM:Thank you, Molly. Never stop haunting!
Allen wrote on August 10, 2007 11:28 AM:I suspect Mr Stevens will be gone from the Senate by Christmas. It is time to begin looking for a Democratic challenger to the ass the governor will appoint. Thanks to Mr Stevens' corruption, the odds of achieving 60 Senate seats in 2008 are getting increasing better. And if Murkowski can be taken down, even better!
Geezergate! wrote on August 10, 2007 11:30 AM:Inquiring minds want to know what Barbara Flanders does to earn $152k as a financial clerk for the Senate Commerce Committee.
Flanders, 54, did personal bookkeeping for Senator Stevens and recently testified about the Girdwood bills.
Stevens and Senator Inouye are best friends and now Inouye is chariman of the Senate Commerce Committee.
Flanders got her biggest raise on Inouye's watch.
C'mon, Laura, someone in DC must know why Flanders is paid the same salary as the Senate Commerce Committee's legislative counsel.
Is Flanders a well-known financial whiz or what?
Anonymous wrote on August 10, 2007 11:38 AM:Flanders, 54 $152k
great story yet AK MSM has dropped it
Its those pesky details KTUU and ADN can't pick up on
Grumpy wrote on August 10, 2007 12:04 PM:ADN did report the Flanders deal (probably after seeing it on TPM). They haven't reported any more since because there isn't anything more to say.
It's enough that ADN did some digging on this note. Notice how they have to phrase it: "If $130,000 is an accurate total, it would raise questions..." Yes, it would. By human beings and inanimate newspapers alike. Usually, inanimate newspapers defer to human beings when asking such questions, but at times like this, questions raise themselves.
FlyOnTheWall wrote on August 10, 2007 12:16 PM:Geezer, John Stanton's been covering the Flanders angle for RollCall - and given that she's already been called before the Grand Jury, I think we can rest assured that any illegal actions involving her have come to the attention of the prosecutors.
IMHO, the juicy part of this story is a section that Laura left unmentioned. The wife of John C. Hess, a Veco engineer, has now confirmed that he drafted the plans for Stevens' renovation. That's crucial for two reasons. First, it ties this scandal ever more tightly to Veco. Until now, all we've had is the appearance of impropriety - the knowledge that Veco's Allen pressured contractors to assist Stevens and that the bills were funneled through Veco. This pushes it a step further; now we've got a Veco employee donating extremely valuable services to the Senator without direct compensation. Second, it clarifies the muddled circumstances of the renovation. The initial reports suggested that Veco had stepped in when the framing was fouled up, and tied Veco to the renovation only through (a) the review of bills and (b) procural of contractors. This kicks it to the next level - Veco, it turns out, drew up the designs on which the entire renovation was based, and was involved from day one.
The money trail is important, and I'm sure the grand jury, Public Integrity, and the FBI will trace the funds in the special account, and show that Stevens' payments couldn't possibly have covered the full cost of the renovation. But that's just adding more counts to the indictment. As of today, we know that a Veco employee, acting on orders from his CEO, drew up plans for a sitting senator for free.
Curtains for Ted.
Geezergate! wrote on August 10, 2007 12:30 PM:Re Barbara Flanders
No one in the mainstream media, as far as I know, has reported about what Flanders does to earn her big fat salary. The only discussion has been here in the TPM MR comments.
Check out Flanders' salary history at Legistorm.com - link below. Flanders just got a $38k annual raise. For doing what?
Say Stevens is having an affair with Flanders. It certainly would not be the first time that a member of Congress put a paramour on the payroll.
Remember Elizabeth Ray?
johnnydoughey wrote on August 10, 2007 1:12 PM:It sounds as though Stevens is stating that he paid $130,000 for the remodel and at the same time stating that it will be difficult to prove he actually DID pay that amount. Apparently, Senators in Alaska (and probably elsewhere) have not yet signed up for a checking account in a bank and prefer to just deal in cash. Perhaps if we checked his freezer...
On a side note... I thought Flanders was helping him with his finances and bookkeeping. I guess, in the end, this remodel will all be her fault.
Gee wrote on August 10, 2007 1:53 PM:It wasn't Steven's fault that the contractor did more work then they were paid for.
Why, if I had a nickel for every time a contractor did major work and then just didn't bother to bill me, I'd be ....
Oh, never mind.
heh wrote on August 10, 2007 2:31 PM:I can't forget the arrogance of this little man in the last congress when he was leader in the Senate.
What a fraud.
He'd quit if he was forced to give back the earmark for the Katrina victims, from the bridge to nowhere.
What self serving little trolls those lifers become in the Senate. Makes me sick. Term limits!
Anonymous wrote on August 10, 2007 3:47 PM:Heh:
aquart wrote on August 10, 2007 4:06 PM:Arrogance is precisely the universal weapon all Republicans use to intimidate the rest of us.
Starting with Bush and Cheney who consider themselves above the law, to Miers and Rove happily disregarding subpoenas, Sara Taylor who answers only the questions she chooses and last but not least, Alberto Gonzalez who acts "irritated" when asked about his activities at the DoJ.
So far, it seems to be working...
The question is WHY do they get away with it???
Have we become so oblivious that nobody cares any more?
They get away with it because our leadership refuses to take a stand on anything.
I have no idea why.
mamyaga wrote on August 10, 2007 4:10 PM:Flanders got a $38K raise recently? Was that before or after Stevens knew she'd be called before the Grand Jury? It looks a lot like hush money on the taxpayers' dime to me.
bjobotts wrote on August 10, 2007 6:37 PM:Of course a $38k raise is no sweat if the taxpayers are paying it. Stevens having an affair??? he's in his eighties for god's sake. Knowing all this evidence we wait to see just what will be done and how much is swept away under the table by getting put off repeatedly. This guy shouldn't still be in the senate much less serving on committees. Does his tax paid bookeeper have to return her illegaly paid salary? The rats grown fat on the cheese are now told perhaps they shouldn't have eaten it all these years.