Alaska senator

Alaska senator indicted for alleged false statements

Department of Justice said the seven counts were related to Stevens' filing of Senate financial forms. The senator allegedly engaged in a multi-year scheme to conceal more than $250,000 worth of items of value received from oil firm VECO Corp., Matthew Friedrich, acting assistant attorney general, said at a news conference Tuesday.

The items included home improvements, household goods and a vehicle exchange in which Stevens allegedly turned over a used car for another vehicle of higher value, Friedrich said. When asked whether Stevens had received the goods and services in exchange for political favors, Friedrich said, "This indictment does not allege such anagreement."

Messages left Tuesday at both Stevens' Senate office in Washington and his campaign office in Anchorage by the Associated Press were not immediately returned.

VECO Corp. and its then-CEO Bill Allen oversaw a 2000 project that more than doubled the size of Stevens' home in Girdwood, Alaska, contractors have told the Anchorage Daily News and other newspapers. FBI and IRS agents searched that home a year ago.

In May 2007, Allen and fellow company executive Richard Smith pleaded guilty to federal bribery, extortion, conspiracy and fraud charges as part of a wide-ranging federal corruption investigation in Alaska. Allen and Smith admitted they bribed state lawmakers with cash and job offers and illegally reimbursed their employees for some political contributions.

The FBI searched offices of several state lawmakers in August 2006 as part of the VECO probe, including those of Stevens' son, former state Senate president Ben Stevens.

Allen, Smith and other company executives gave $105,500 to Ted Stevens' campaign and political action committee since 1990, according to the non-partisan Center for Responsive Politics. Allen and his son, Mark, are also partners with Ted Stevens in two companies that own racehorses.

Stevens also hired Scott Lethard, son of VECO President Peter Lethard, as a congressional aide in 2004.

VECO started as a tiny oilfield services company in 1968, and Allen joined the firm shortly thereafter. In 1970, Allen bought out a partner, starting his nearly four decades at the helm of the increasingly influential company.

In 1987, oil company ARCO hired VECO to make several large "modules," steel boxes that house electronics and oilfield equipment. VECO also was awarded a large piece of the cleanup contract after the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil tanker spill in Prince William Sound.

A contracting database shows the company and its subsidiaries also have received nearly $29 million in federal contracts since 2003, largely to support National Science Foundation outposts in the Arctic.

The company's executives have consistently supported politicians who want to expand Alaska's oil industry, such as allowing oil drilling in parts of Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and planning a natural gas pipeline across the state. Stevens and Republican Rep. Don Young have been vocal backers of both, saying the plans would help their state's economy while easing U.S. dependence on foreign oil. On the House floor last month, Young said lawmakers who voted to block the two projects were engaging in "economic terrorism."

Company executives have donated nearly $200,000 to Young's campaign and political action committee since 1990. Allen also hosted an annual fundraiser for Young.

Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, has been involved in a federal investigation centered on VECO Corp., an Alaska-based oil field services and engineering company. In May 2007, one current and two former state legislators pleaded not guilty to extortion and taking bribes to support legislation benefiting the company. Days later, Bill Allen, VECO's founder and CEO, and a VECO vice president pleaded guilty to bribing state lawmakers in exchange for oil legislation votes favoring the industry.

2000: Renovations on Stevens' home in the ski resort community of Girdwood more than double the size of the house. Allen oversees the project.

Aug. 31, 2006: The FBI raids the offices of Stevens' son, then-Alaska Senate president Ben Stevens, along with the offices of several other state lawmakers in an investigation of VECO. The younger Stevens has not been charged.

May 25, 2007: Bob Persons, Ted Stevens' friend and neighbor, is ordered to appear before a grand jury in Washington, the Anchorage Daily News reports. The government directs Persons to submit documents related to the work on Stevens' home in Girdwood, including work tied to VECO and contractors who were hired or supervised by VECO.

June 7, 2007: The Washington Post reports that Stevens had hired lawyers and was instructed by the FBI to preserve records relevant to the investigation.

Summer 2007: Barbara Flanders, who serves as a financial clerk for Stevens on the Senate Commerce committee, testifies before a federal grand jury joined by the IRS and the Interior Department. She provides documents regarding the senator's home renovation bills, an attorney in the case tells the Associated Press.

July 2007: Stevens tells the AP he is worried that a corruption investigation "could cause me some trouble" in running for re-election next year.

July 17, 2007: Stevens files his personal financial disclosure form and says every bill he and his wife received for renovations to their home was paid "with our own money."

July 30, 2007: FBI agents execute a search warrant at Stevens' home, which includes taking photos and training video cameras on the house.

July 29, 2008: Stevens is indicted on seven federal counts of making false statements.

Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska