Can you hear me now?

Disco Ray gets 'er done.

"There were clear bribery laws that were being broken here. I took it to the state troopers, I took it to the district attorney, I took it to David Marquez, who was the attorney general," Metcalfe said. "I took it to APOC I took it to every single agency the state of Alaska has that's responsible for enforcing the law; 100 percent of them, to the man, said no."

Ray Metcalfe

(He then sent a letter to the FBI and somehow they were able to see what all those Alaska Agencies could not.)

Charges indicate Stevens was bribed by VECO execs

In 2005, Ray Metcalfe attempted to recall Stevens. The Division of Elections dismissed the recall and Stevens held a press conference calling Metcalfe's charges baseless; nevertheless, he refused to divulge what work he performed for the VECO "consulting fees."

Former state Rep. Ray Metcalfe has fought for years to implicate Stevens in a corruption scandal. He expects an indictment will be handed down shortly.

"It was so obvious that (Stevens) was sitting there at the head of the state Senate clipping coupons from a VECO book of bribery that a caveman could have figured it out," Metcalfe said.

Read the full article here

http://www.ktuu.com/Global/story.asp?S=6487214

Sen. Ted Stevens Bribed With Home Remodel

September 18, 2007

The longest serving Republican in the U.S. Senate took bribes in the form of a major home remodeling, according to the federal court testimony of an oil company chairman guilty of showering several lawmakers with nearly half a million dollars of “illegal benefits.”

Alaska Senator Ted Stevens has been implicated in the widespread corruption scheme for months but the court testimony--in the corruption trail of state House Speaker Pete Kott--marks the most damaging evidence against the veteran legislator who is also the state’s most powerful political figure.

As chairman of the major oil services company VECO, Bill Allen admitted that he committed extortion, conspiracy and bribery of legislators for giving various politicians and their families more than $400,000 worth of bribes. Among them was doubling the size of the senator’s Alaska home by paying for the labor and materials.

Allen testified that VECO employees performed the work to add a second story to the Stevens residence near Anchorage and the elaborate project took about half a year. A few months ago federal agents raided the Stevens home to gather evidence and take photos and video of the lavish compound.

Although Stevens is the most recognized figure in the statewide corruption scandal, at least six other Alaska lawmakers are under investigation for taking bribes from VECO, which has reaped tens of millions of dollars in federal contracts over the years.

Besides Kott, who is being tried this week, the probe has targeted Stevens’ son, State Senator Ben Stevens, as well as two other state senators (John Cowdery of Anchorage and Donny Olson of Nome) and two state representatives (Vic Kohring of Wasilla and Bruce Weyhrauch of Juneau).

The 83-year-old Stevens has represented Alaska in Washington since 1968 and is up for reelection next year. The way things are going, it seems that perhaps a prison sentence may prevent him from campaigning.

http://www.corruptionchronicles.com/2007/09/alaska_sen_stevens_bribed_with.html

Testimony: Sen. Stevens' Son Took Bribes

By DAN JOLING
The Associated Press
Thursday, September 13, 2007; 11:06 PM

ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- The former head of an oil field service company admitted Thursday in court that he bribed three Alaska legislators, including the son of a U.S. senator who is the target of a federal investigation.

Former VECO Corp. CEO Bill Allen, 70, testified Thursday in the federal corruption trial of former state House Speaker Pete Kott. Allen and a former company vice president, Rick Smith, have pleaded guilty to bribing lawmakers, and await sentencing.

Allen said he bribed Kott, former state Senate President Ben Stevens and former Rep. Vic Kohring. He also testified that he recruited Stevens in 1995 for work on behalf of VECO, well before Stevens was appointed to the state Senate in 2002, and that Stevens maintained a consulting contract with the company through 2006.

Stevens, the son of U.S. Sen. Ted 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.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/13/AR2007091301889.html

Kott Korruption

Alaska bribes run the long run

Uncle Ted still heating things up!

FBI investigates Sen. Ted Stevens

FBI investigates link involving Sen. Ted Stevens of Alaska

By ERIKA BOLSTAD and GREG GORDON

McClatchy Newspapers

U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens, an Alaska Republican

WASHINGTON | The FBI is investigating the National Science Foundation’s award of $170 million in contracts to the oil field-services company that oversaw renovations on U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens’ home, McClatchy Newspapers has learned.

Veco Corp. in 1999 captured a lucrative five-year foundation contract to provide logistics and support for polar research, although it had no previous experience in that field. In the same period, Veco’s top executive managed renovations that doubled the size of the longtime Republican senator’s Girdwood, Alaska, home — raided July 30 by the FBI.

Foundation spokesman Dana Cruikshank told McClatchy Newspapers the FBI had looked into the 1999 award, worth up to $70 million, and a 2004 follow-up contract for as many as seven years that the company values at up to $100 million.

Justice Department spokesman Bryan Sierra and an FBI spokeswoman, Deborah Weierman, declined to comment.

Veco’s founder and chief executive officer, Bill Allen, pleaded guilty in the spring to making $400,000 in illegal payments to Alaska lawmakers, including Stevens’ son, Ben Stevens, then-president of the Alaska Senate. Allen is cooperating in an FBI corruption investigation that also has led to the conviction of a second Veco executive, a lobbyist, and a former Alaska state representative. Three other state lawmakers are awaiting trial on bribery charges. Ben Stevens has not been charged.

Alaska’s sole congressman, U.S. Rep. Don Young, a Republican, is also under investigation for his ties to Veco.

There had been little hint as to how Veco might have benefited from the relationship its CEO had with the elder Stevens, who served for several years as the Senate Appropriations Committee chairman. Stevens also oversaw the foundation on the Senate Commerce Committee.

No evidence has surfaced that Stevens directly steered the contract to Veco, but his aggressive support for increased funding for arctic research coincided with the company’s sudden emergence as a major player in providing logistics for polar scientists.

Stevens, 83, would not comment on the investigation.

Ethics in high places

Congressman Don "Pork" Young

Congressman Don Young agrees to give back illegal contributions -- but not all of it

"Hey, this parts clean now, aint it?" BF

Oil Company in Scandal Gave Outside of Alaska

VECO executives and employees have contributed $1 million to federal politicians and parties since 1989, Center finds. In Alaska, lawmakers have rushed to dump the money.

By Massie Ritsch

May 09, 2007 | The multinational oil services company at the center of a political corruption scandal in Alaska’s statehouse has been a generous contributor to federal lawmakers as well, the Center for Responsive Politics has found. From 1989 through 2006, VECO, its employees and their families contributed about $1 million to current and former members of Congress from 26 states, as well as to President Bush, political parties, other committees and issue advocacy groups.

VECO has been the top Alaska-based contributor to federal politics for at least the last five election cycles, the Center found. Like most oil and gas companies, VECO is staunchly Republican; 97% of its contributions have gone to Republican interests.

The top recipients of money from the company (shown in a table below) are, not surprisingly, members of Congress representing Alaska. Rep. Don Young, a Republican who is the state’s only congressman, has taken in at least $257,320 from VECO in the last 18 years through his campaign committee and political action committee. VECO has been Young’s most generous campaign contributor over that period, according to CRP’s research.

Alaska’s senior statesman in Washington, Sen. Ted Stevens, has received at least $156,000 through his campaign and committees that he uses to support fellow Republican candidates. Stevens’s son Ben, a former president of the Alaska state Senate, has been implicated in the VECO scandal. He has not been charged and denies any wrongdoing.

Two members of another prominent Alaska political family have also benefited from VECO contributions. The state’s other U.S. senator, Sen. Lisa Murkowski, has received $45,250 from company employees, and her father, Frank, received at least $27,947 while he was in the U.S. Senate. Frank Murkowski appointed his daughter to take his Senate seat in 2002 after he was elected governor.

President Bush received about $24,000 from VECO employees for his 2000 and 2004 campaigns. In addition, the company itself contributed $25,000 toward a 2001 Republican fundraising dinner hosted by the president. The president’s father, former President George H. W. Bush, received $9,000 from VECO employees during his unsuccessful 1992 re-election campaign.

Hawaii Sen. Daniel Inouye is the only Democrat currently serving in Congress to receive money from VECO ($15,000 in the 2004 election cycle). Sen. Christopher “Kit” Bond, a Missouri Republican, is another out-of-state member of Congress who is a top recipient of money from VECO ($10,516). A number of current members have received $6,000 or less from VECO, and some beneficiaries of VECO's largesse no longer hold federal office. The company’s federal giving peaked in the 2004 cycle, when employees and their families contributed $218,600 to candidates for Congress, president and party committees.

One current member of the Alaska House of Representatives and two former Republican members were indicted last week for allegedly accepting bribes from VECO in exchange for supporting the company’s positions on oil and gas taxes and a natural gas pipeline. They have pleaded not guilty.

VECO’s chief executive, Bill Allen, and Rick Smith, a vice president who served as the Anchorage-based company’s chief lobbyist, appeared in federal court Monday to plead guilty to paying off state legislators. In all, Allen and Smith have contributed nearly $270,000 at the federal level since 1989, the Center found. In addition to making contributions in his own name, Allen acknowledged rewarding VECO executives with bonuses as repayment for campaign contributions, which is illegal. It is unclear whether the politicians who received these contributions were state or federal officeholders.

Other than Allen’s admission that he illegally rewarded employees who made contributions, no evidence has been presented publicly that VECO’s donations to particular members of Congress were illegal. But no politician wants to be even tangentially associated with a corruption scandal. Several Alaska lawmakers have already dumped contributions they received from VECO, opting to donate the money to charity to avoid its taint. Members of Congress may follow suit, as they have in other scandals involving presumably legal contributions. Recipients of campaign donations from the corrupt lobbyist Jack Abramoff and his clients returned or donated more than $700,000 after Abramoff pleaded guilty to bribing officials.

Federal Recipients of VECO Contributions, 1989-2006

Recipient	Grand Total
Don Young (R-Alaska)	$257,320
Ted Stevens (R-Alaska)	$156,000
Republican National Cmte	$133,450
National Republican Senatorial Cmte	$75,000
Republican Party of Alaska	$60,170
Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska)	$46,250
Frank H. Murkowski (R-Alaska)	$27,947
2001 President's Dinner Cmte	$25,000
George W. Bush (R)	$24,050
Richard Pombo (R-Calif)	$16,312
William L. Hensley (D-Alaska)	$16,250
Slade Gorton (R-Wash)	$15,000
Daniel K. Inouye (D-Hawaii)	$15,000
Christopher S. 'Kit' Bond (R-Mo)	$10,516
George H. W. Bush (R)	$9,000
Republican Party of Missouri	$8,000
George R. Nethercutt Jr. (R-Wash)	$7,000
Richard Burr (R-NC)	$6,000
Tom Coburn (R-Okla)	$6,000
Norm Coleman (R-Minn)	$6,000
James W. DeMint (R-SC)	$6,000
Greg Ganske (R-Iowa)	$6,000
Tim Hutchinson (R-Ark)	$6,000
John E. Sununu (R-NH)	$6,000
James M. Talent (R-Mo)	$6,000
John Thune (R-SD)	$6,000
David Vitter (R-La)	$6,000
Helen Chenoweth (R-Idaho)	$5,000
Conrad Burns (R-Mont)	$4,000
Arlen Specter (R-Pa)	$4,000
George V. Voinovich (R-Ohio)	$3,750
National Republican Congressional Cmte	$3,300
Rick White (R-Wash)	$3,000
John Ensign (R-Nev)	$2,000
Bob Beauprez (R-Colo)	$1,000
Max Burns (R-Ga)	$1,000
Jennifer Dunn (R-Wash)	$1,000
Steve Pearce (R-NM)	$1,000
Jon Porter (R-Nev)	$1,000
Denny Rehberg (R-Mont)	$1,000
Tony Smith (D-Alaska)	$1,000
Dick Thornburgh (R-Pa)	$1,000
Jim Bunn (R-Ore)	$500
Frank A. Cremeans (R-Ohio)	$500
Barbara Cubin (R-Wyo)	$500
Democratic Party of Alaska	$500
Jim Gibbons (R-Nev)	$500
J. D. Hayworth (R-Ariz)	$500
Rick Hill (R-Mont)	$500
James B. Longley Jr. (R-Maine)	$500
Linda Smith (R-Wash)	$500
Randy Tate (R-Wash)	$500
John S. Devens (D-Alaska)	$350
Larry Craig (R-Idaho)	$200
Bob Dole (R)	$200

Grand totals include contributions to campaign committees, political action committees and parties. Based on data available April 2, 2007 from the Federal Election Commission.

CRP Researcher Douglas Weber contributed to this report.

And the leg bones connected to the...

Congressman Don Young, come on down!

Isn't that just ducky.

From the news wire

Alaskan Elephants in crisis

Ethics addressed finally!

The Senate Majority made a commitment to pass ethics legislation this session and we delivered on
that commitment. House Bill 109 is an omnibus bill that establishes new ethical standards for
members of the Alaska Legislature, executive branch employees and lobbyists. Here are some of the
highlights:
House Bill 109 improves laws affecting lobbyists by:
• Requiring ethics training for lobbyists and their employers
• Increasing restrictions on lobbyists’ gifts
• Barring persons with certain felony convictions from lobbying
• Barring spouses and domestic partners of legislators from lobbying for pay
• Prohibiting certain high-level executive branch officials from lobbying for one year after leaving
those positions
Improves disclosure laws by:
• Requiring electronic filing of campaign and financial disclosures
• Requiring legislators and legislative employees to disclose all boards on which they serve
• Requiring final financial disclosures from legislators, public officials, and others within 90 days of
leaving office
• Requiring more details in financial disclosures
• Requiring members of more executive branch boards to file financial disclosures
Improves executive branch ethics laws by:
• Increasing requirements for public officials’ blind trusts
• Specifying when a financial interest in a business is insignificant
• Increasing restrictions on employment after leaving service in the executive branch
• Barring political use of state aircraft except when that use is incidental
• Requiring the governor, before granting executive clemency, to disclose any interest in the matter
and obtain an ethics determination from the attorney general
Improves legislative ethics laws by:
• Requiring ethics training
• Increasing restrictions on gifts legislators and legislative employees may accept
• Prohibiting legislators from receiving outside compensation for legislative, administrative, or
political work
• Makes it a crime for public servants not to report bribery they know about
• Prohibits agreements to exchange campaign contributions to elected officials or candidates for
changing their votes or positions on a matter
• Provides for forfeiture of certain pension contributions when an official is convicted of a felony
such as bribery in connection with official duties

From Sen. Huggins newsletter