Bribery Trial Provides Evidence Against Alaska Senator Ted Stevens
By Tom Fitton
Oct 1, 2007
Former Alaskan state legislator Pete Kott was found guilty last week of peddling his legislative influence for bribes, including $9,000 and a job with VECO Corp, an oil field services company. So why is this bad news for Alaskan Republican Senator Ted Stevens? Because Stevens, the Senate’s longest serving Republican, is under investigation by the FBI to determine whether he also received illegal gifts from VECO. Evidence presented during the trial suggests he did.
Bribery Trial Provides Evidence Against Senator Ted Stevens
This according to The Associated Press: "The two-week [Kott] trial included testimony by VECO chief Bill Allen that he doled out more than $400,000 in bribes to various officials and had company workers remodel the home of Stevens."
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Last week, we also learned that the FBI had been recording conversations between Allen and Stevens. And on July 30, FBI investigators searched Stevens’ home in search of evidence. In addition to the scandal involving VECO, a federal grand jury is also looking into a $3.5 million earmark from Stevens that may have financially benefited one of Stevens’ campaign contributors and, perhaps, the Senator’s son. Justice Department officials are investigating Stevens to determine whether federal funds he steered to an Alaska wildlife research center may have enriched a former aide.
None of this is all-too-surprising for a man known as the "King of Pork." For his part, Kott was convicted of conspiracy to solicit financial benefits, extortion and bribery, and could spend the next 35 years in prison.
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According to The Hill, “In exchange for assurances he would cast votes in VECO’s favor on a key petroleum production tax proposal, the jury found that Kott solicited bribes and received cash, checks and the promise of a future job with VECO. Trial evidence included more than 60 recordings of conversations involving Kott and former VECO executives.”
For the Republican Senator from Alaska, it seems to be not if, but when, he is indicted by the feds.
Tom Fitton is President of Judicial Watch, a nonpartisan educational foundation that fights government corruption. Visit www.judicialwatch.org for more information on Judicial Watch's legal campaigns and programs.
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