Oil Company Bribery of Alaska's Public Officials 1981 to 2008 - Chapter One

By Ray Metcalfe
February 17, 2008

ConocoPhillips President Jim Bowles just can't seem to get Palin's attention. He said she just doesn't understand the economics of it all. Maybe he should just try the same old fashioned economics his predecessors at ARCO used with former Governor Tony Knowles. Just write her a big check. Click here (PDF) to see what I mean.

Did you look? If you did, ask yourself three questions. Do you remember any time in state history when it was legal to contribute more than $1000 to an elected official or a committee formed for his election or other benefit? Do you remember a time at all when it was legal to write a check to an elected official even though all of his former campaign debts were paid and he or she wasn't running for office? Better yet, do you remember a time when it was legal for corporations to write $15,000, $20,000 and $30,000 in checks to an elected official for any reason?

On second thought, I suspect that if Jim Bowles tried with Palin what worked so well with Knowles, she would soon take steps to provide him with a matched set of metal bracelets.

Read the complete article here...http://alaskareport.com/metcalfe/m91113_tony_knowles.php

Alaska Suffers From Institutionalized Corruption

Corruption in Alaska involves more than just a few bad apples. It’s as institutionalized as Jim Crow laws of the 1940’s.

The Daily News described crooked land deals in Seward. What the Sealife story didn’t say was that the city manager who refused to spend Senator Stevens’ earmarks as directed was fired for his integrity.

Seward’s city manager’s refusal forced Ted Stevens, Trevor McCabe, and Brad Gilman to re-route their scheme through the Sealife Center where they found willing partners in a majority of the board.

That’s what I mean by more than just a few bad apples. Seward’s City Council fired their manager for having the integrity to say no, while the Sealife Center went along to get along, even though members of both knew that Gilman, McCabe, Ben and Ted Stevens all have a history of close ties.

The Seward scenario provides a snapshot of how the “Good Old Boy System” works. An image of favoritism and bribery that dominates Alaska’s politics.

Oil industry bribery has cost Alaskans a couple billions dollars every single year since we began pumping oil from Prudhoe Bay.

Cleaning up corruption in Alaska will require leaders willing to risk retribution and play chicken with some mighty scary people. Fear of a visit from the political equivalent of the KKK causes even the honorable to fear stepping forward.

Metcalfe v McGuire re APOC filings

Citizens for Ethical Government present the unedited complaint and response to Ray Metcalfe's APOC filing for Lisal McGuire to be brought up on charges of accepting bribes and Lobbying.


http://www.citizens4ethics.com

Ray Metcalfe on KSKA

KSKA Community Forum: Ray Metcalfe

A production of the News and Public Affairs Department of KSKA
Wed, November 14, 2007
Posted in Community Forum

Former state representative, Ray Metcalfe formed the Republican Moderate Party in 1986 to oppose the influence of the Religious Right over the Republican Party. Public litigant, political gadfly, always a lightening rod for controversy and discussion, Ray Metcalfe, Chairman of the Republican Moderate Party of Alaska is the guest on today’s Community Forum with Nellie Moore.

HOST: Nellie Moore, independent journalist

GUEST:

• Ray Metcalfe, Chairman of the Republican Moderate Party of Alaska

LIVE BROADCAST: Wed, Nov 14, 2007 at 2:00 p.m.

REPEAT BROADCAST: Wed, Nov 14 2007 at 7:00 p.m.

This is a repost of the article at KSKA, view the original here

Download the full interview as an MP3 here

Standard Podcast [58:53m]: Hide Player | Play in Popup | Download

Come get down and dirty at the Muckrakers Ball Music & Prizes

Sponsored by Cook Inletkeeper, a citizen based nonprofit group dedicated to protecting Alaska's Cook Inlet Watershed and the life it sustains.

http://www.inletkeeper.org/

Muckrakers Ball will honor Ray Metcalfe for his role in

bringing corrupt Alaska politicians and VECO executives to justice.
Come get down and dirty with Cook Inletkeeper.

December 1, 7:00 PM • Alice’s Champagne Palace in Homer. Live Music by “Work in Progress” and “Elders on Fire” Admission free. Cool Door Prizes!
Cook Inletkeeper Cash Raffle Drawing
($4,500 in Prize Money — tickets available at the door)

Veco, Corruption & Legislators opposing Alaska's fair share.

Below is a letter to all legislators from a world renowned oil consultant who our legislature employed to advise them on oil tax issues. He makes his living holding seminars around the world teaching government officials how to negotiate with oil companies. Attached is a chapter from his course materials. Alaska's future ability to build roads, pay teachers, and patch potholes depends on how well Alaskans understand the attached.

When he writes about "Government Take," he is referring to the sharing of either the oil produced or the profits derived after the successful bidder has recovered the costs of drilling, production, and shipping.

When he references 85%, 90%, and 95%, he is referring to what the winning bidder offered to pay to the host country if they were awarded the license to develop the block after the winning bidder had recovered costs. (Block meaning leased tract.) (License meaning successful high bidder.)

With Veco's recent in court admission to having secretly provided unreported under the table political contributions to dozens of their favored candidates, Alaskans have reasonable cause to suspect that those still seated legislators who cling to Veco's positions have very likely been willing recipients of Veco's bribes. If we don't get our fair share, I believe a mass recall of several corrupt legislators may be in order.

See Consultant Daniel Johnston's letter below:

Dear Friends,
This unsolicited response is partially inspired by the recent editorial from

Representative Jay Ramras. Some of you may recall that (prior to his recent
editorial) Jay had questioned my credentials because I was from New
Hampshire. Ben Stevens also used to beat this drum. It always surprised me
that that logic managed to gain traction and was used so often. Jay did
partially explain his statement to me when I was in Juneau last month. Thank
you Jay, but I am still scratching my head over that one.
For those of you who had to suffer through my testimony the past two years
you will recall numerous references to risky places like Libya, Kazakhstan,
Algeria and Russia where the government share of profits ("take") was in the
high eighties i.e. around 85+%.
So now Alaska is considering a change to the petroleum profits tax which
will add another 1% or so to Government take. Yawn. As I mentioned the last
time I testified, by the time I arrived on the scene the debate had already
zeroed-in on a tax rate of from 20 to 25%. That spread equated to a spread
in "take" of only about 2 percentage points.
Now, Libya is considering a change of its own. The first of the big license
rounds in Libya (which I have often referred to as "feeding frenzies") was
only just recently -- 2005. While the average government take of the various
licenses awarded in 2005 was only around 85% or so some of the high-interest
blocks went for a nearly 95% take. These blocks had up to 15 bids per
block!!! Now even for those licenses the take is going to change according
to the press release below.
I have included a copy of the article I published last year about the
licensing activity in Libya. Sounds like my article will soon be obsolete.
The rhetoric about greedy Alaskan's is a joke. It is also a joke to think of
Alaska as a basked case of instability. Give me a break.
AND, I caught some grief for mentioning "the cloud" of corruption in Alaska
when I testified and I had to listen to an endless trail of statistics
regarding voting records of Kott, Kohring and others. And when did Pedro
have time to research the voting records of these guys? Who spoon-fed Pedro
those statistics?
As far as destroying the investment climate in Alaska? Sorry, the modest
change recommended by the new Governor will hardly even register. Relax. The
same rhetoric that is being used to bludgeon Alaskans on this issue is
standard fare and I don't blame the oil companies for trying. That is their
job.
But I have seen and heard it before. The modest changes proposed do not even
come close. And in fact I am still depressed that what little bit of
progressivity you had is watered down with the Governor's proposal. Damn.
I am in Vancouver at the moment on my way to Turkmenistan where e-mail and
other communications are not exactly user-friendly. That is why I felt the
need to say something-now. I am awfully proud of you guys. Hang in there. I
read about 5 Alaska newspapers every day and follow as best I can every
ounce of news. But for the next week I will likely be a bit out-of-touch.
Good luck and may God bless you all.
Sincerely,
Daniel

PETROLEUM INTELLIGENCE WEEKLY
IOCs Come to Terms With Libya’s New Deal
Monday, November 5, 2007

Summary
Libya’s state National Oil Corp. (NOC) is renegotiating contracts with all
of the country’s current oil and gas producers with the aim of tightening
fiscal terms to increase the government’s take in line with higher prices.
The goal is to reshape all concession agreements and earlier Epsa-2 and
Epsa-3 contracts to the Epsa-4 model used in Libya’s last four bid rounds.
Under the new deals, NOC will seek a bigger share of production.




daniel@danieljohnston.com
www.danieljohnston.com
Phone: (603) 525-9330
FAX: (603) 525-4218
60 Shady Lane
Hancock, New Hampshire U.S.A. 03449

Veco’s Dirty Dozen

By Ray Metcalfe
10/21/2007

The following twelve legislators all have four things in common:

1. Every one of them has taken more than $10,000 from Veco.

2. When Veco owner Bill Allen asked to be relieved of his requirement to register as a lobbyist, they crafted and passed legislation ending Bill Allen’s requirement to register.

3. When presented with hundreds of pages of evidence of Veco’s bribery, each of them refused to respond.

4. When asked to admit or deny under oath whether or not had taken advantage of the illegal polling, services that Veco’s Vice President Rick Smith admitted having provided to over 100 of their favored candidates, every one of the still seated legislators below refused comment.

1. Mike Chenault, $32,000
2. Ralph Samuels, $10,250
3. Mike Hawker, $21,350
4. Lesil McGuire, $17,550
5. Lyda Green, $18,000
6. Kevin Meyer, $23,350
7. John Cowdery, $45,200
8. Con Bunde, $18,650
9. John Coghill Jr, $10,480
10. Richard Foster, $16,750
11. Fred Dyson, $21,700
12. Gary Stevens, $14,275

Watch closely as they go to bat for everything Veco fought for --- and remember them next election.

Ray Metcalfe

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