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Ted Stevens indicted on corruption charges

By LISA DEMER and RICHARD MAUER
Anchorage Daily News

Published: July 29th, 2008 11:08 AM
Last Modified: July 29th, 2008 12:46 PM

U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens was indicted this morning by a federal grand jury in Washington, D.C., on seven counts of filing false financial disclosures.

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With the felony indictment, Stevens, an icon in Alaska politics, becomes by far the most powerful politician charged in a broad investigation into corruption of Alaska public officials that began more than four years ago and that has so far led to convictions of three state legislators and charges against two others.

At a news conference in Washington today, Matthew Friedrich, acting assistant attorney general for the Justice Department's criminal division, said Stevens would be allowed to turn himself in. Stevens' attorney, Brendan Sullivan of Washington, was notified of the indictment this morning, Friedrich said.

The seven-count indictment charges Stevens with making false statements by failing to disclose "things of value" he received from Veco Corp., an Alaska-based oil services company, and from its chairman, Bill Allen, over an eight-year period. The indictment charges that those included substantial improvements to Stevens' home in Girdwood; automobile exchanges in which he received new vehicles worth far more than the old ones; and household goods.

At the same time, according to the indictment, Stevens received solicitations for official actions from Allen and other Veco employees, and used his office on behalf of Veco.

The federal Ethics in Government Act requires all senators to file financial disclosure statements detailing their transactions during the previous calendar year, including the disclosure of gifts above a specified value and all liabilities greater than $10,000.

At the news conference, Friedrich said the case involved false disclosures, not bribery, and no specific actions by Stevens in return for the gifts were alleged. But the indictment also says that Veco had requests for Stevens, and that Stevens and his staff responded.

Stevens could and did use his official position and his office on behalf of Veco during that same time period, the indictment charges. Some of the solicitations were made directly to Stevens and included requests for help on international projects in Pakistan and Russia; requests for federal grants and contracts, including National Science Foundation grants to a subsidiary called Veco Polar; and assistance with the effort to construct a natural gas pipeline from Alaska's North Slope.

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Allen, the former Veco CEO, and Rick Smith, a former Veco vice president of community affairs and government relations, pleaded guilty in May 2007 to providing more than $400,000 in corrupt payments to public officials from Alaska.

The charges come almost exactly a year after an FBI and IRS raid on Stevens' home in Girdwood. Renovations in 2000, overseen by Allen and managed by his employees and contractors, doubled the size of the home by adding a new first floor.

Witnesses with knowledge of Veco's role have reported testifying before grand juries in Anchorage and Washington.

The indictment charges that Stevens "knowingly and willfully engaged in a scheme to conceal a material fact, that is, his continuing receipt of hundreds of thousands of dollars' worth of things of value from a private corporation and its chief executive officer" by failing to disclose them.

The total value of the Girdwood improvements was more than $250,000, according to the indictment.

Stevens has said he paid all the bills that he was presented for the Girdwood addition, leaving open the question of whether he was billed the entire amount.

A 1999 vehicle exchange concerned a new car for his dependent child, the indictment says, not naming who specifically the vehicle was for. At the time, his only dependent child was daughter Lily. Allen transferred a new 1999 Land Rover Discovery, which Allen had bought for $44,000, to Stevens. In exchange, Stevens gave Allen a 1964 Ford Mustang and $5,000. But the Mustang was worth less than $20,000, according to the indictment.

Stevens, 84, is the longest-serving Republican in the U.S. Senate. From 2003 to 2007, he was president pro tem. With political power that increased with his longevity, Stevens came to represent Alaska's clout in Congress.

His office has not responded to a request for comment.

We are continuing to report this story and will post further updates as soon as we have them. See tomorrow's newspaper for full details.

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