HAHAHA!! FBI is investigating Sen Ted Stevens.....

[LynneSin]

couldn't happen to a meaner, creepier guy!!

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2007/05/29/investigation_involves_alaska_senator/?rss_id=Boston.com+%2F+News+%2F+Nation

Investigation involves Alaska senator
May 29, 2007

ANCHORAGE, Alaska --Federal agents are looking into Sen. Ted Stevens' role in the ongoing investigation into the remodeling of his Alaska home, according to two law enforcement officials familiar with the probe.

The investigation has been open for some time, and is linked to the VECO Corp. bribery case that earlier this month produced guilty pleas from two of the oil-field service company's top executives, the law enforcement officials said.

The FBI and Justice Department are investigating corruption in Alaska -- which may extend to the state's federally elected officials in Washington, the officials said.

[Blue_In_AK]

1. I'm so happy to see this getting national attention...

I posted the story from the Anchorage Daily News yesterday which is very long, but very interesting. It's here for those who missed it.

http://www.adn.com/news/politics/story/8928969p-8829178c.html

[pacalo]

6. Thanks, Blue!

Here's the newly-rennovated house:



Stevens' Girdwood house was jacked up and had a new story built underneath the original one. Its assessed value now is $440,900.MARC LESTER / Anchorage Daily News

[enid602]

14. paltry

Well, if he had to steal to raise his house's assessed value to $440K, his theft is not even worthy of the term Republican corruption. Let's hope they have something bigger than that. I think the Republicans would be truly insulted to think that one of their senior members would be swayed by a paltry $440K. Really!

[badgerpup]

15. They get away scott-free with the big stuff...

...but it's the little stuff (relatively speaking) that will trip them up and take them down.

Remember they finally had to get Al Capone on his taxes?

[enid602]

17. Nixon

And Nixon was impeached because of Watergate/White House plumbers, rather than the repeated, forbidden carpet bombing of Laos and Cambodia.

[Toots]

22. Just the one they are catching him at

They got Al Capone for tax evasion...:shrug: Let the investigations go on. A friend told me one of the Alaska Legislators asked for and received a delay in his court date so his lawyers could go over some evidence. That evidence was hundreds and hundreds of hours of tapes of his discussions with Veco. The two big wigs from Veco are squeeling like stuck pigs and providing every bit of evidence they can muster. If Stevens was involved it will come out and he was most definitely involved, as was his son who happened to be President of the Alaska Senate at the time and received another quarter million a year from Veco "consulting fees." Veco paid for this house remodel, that has already been testified to.

[SoonerPride]

2. The internet is a series of tubes

It's not a truck

NO!

[riverdale]

24. Tubes

The Senator had to remodel the house to get it fitted with bigger tubes for those internets.

[ingac70]

3. Would love to see that old bastard end up like Duke Cunningham!

:evilgrin:

[Supersedeas]

23. top shelf

[Me.]

4. This Just Made My Day

Thanks

[pacalo]

5. This may get very interesting!

VECO, an oil-field service company with a long history of lobbying and donating to political campaigns, was a target of investigators, according to search warrants that became public. On May 7, the company's longtime chief executive, Bill Allen, and a vice president, Rick Smith, pleaded guilty to federal conspiracy, bribery and tax charges. They are now cooperating with authorities.

I hope it's all over for Mr. Bridge to Nowhere.

[Blue_In_AK]

7. Bill Allen has already taken down

three former state legislators and one current one. Ironic that he pled guilty as the briber, but all of the legislators have entered not guilty pleas. I have my doubts about how that's going to work out for them. :evilgrin: Several former and current state legislators, most especially former Senate president Ben Stevens (Ted's son), remain under a cloud, as well as former Governor Frank Murkowski (who everybody knew was in the Big Oil's pockets) and hopefully Rep. Don Young who has accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars from VECO in campaign contributions over the years. Combine that with our new ethics crusader governor (currently enjoying an 89% approval rating) and the coming days could be very bumpy for some who have been in power for far too long.

[pacalo]

13. An interesting tidbit I read from the article you provided...

was that Stevens opened a checking account for the project. Nice way for a U.S. senator to hide a money trail, as long as the FBI doesn't find out about it.

Very suspicious:

Augie Paone, owner of Christensen Builders Inc. of Anchorage, said in a recent interview that it was Bill Allen who hired him to complete the framing and most of the interior carpentry at Stevens' home. Before he could send a bill to Stevens for work in progress, he was directed to provide it first to Veco, where someone would examine it for accuracy, he said. When Veco approved the invoice, he would fax it to the Stevenses in Washington, he said.

Paone said that as far as he knew, Stevens and his wife, Catherine, paid his bills themselves. He said he sent at least $100,000 in invoices to the Stevenses in Washington. They paid him from what he said appeared to be a checking account opened for the project. The checks, imprinted with the couple's names, had single- and double-digit serial numbers, he said.

[roguevalley]

18. Ben is Senator A in the indictment. Good days for Alaska, Blue honey.

[SharonRB]

8. I've got a bridge.....

It's about time!

:hi:

[Robbien]

9. Kinda neat. VECO does not do residential remodelling. Never ever.

Except when they do it for Ben Stevens at pennies on the dollar.

This would be a slam dunk case in a non-Bushie Justice world.

[Blue_In_AK]

11. Our point exactly....

What in the world is an oilfield service company doing acting as a general contractor? I bet I couldn't hire them to remodel MY house. :evilgrin:

[ncrainbowgrrl]

10. interesting.. no wonder why he knew so much about elevating houses in last-Katrina hearing (nt)

[slank]

12. I hope he makes lots of close friends prison

I hope he, Abramoff, & Duke all make a lot of close acquaintances in prison.

[KaptBunnyPants]

16. Ya'll are so cute.

Like the executive controlled FBI is going to torpedo another Republican, especially a bigwig like Stevens.

[roguevalley]

19. my impression is that VECO went over the invoices to make sure

they weren't padded, unlike their own billings, and then sent them to Stevens to pay. I would check to see where they sent their reimbursements for his payments. That's the end of the line for his sorry ass and the biggest party day in Alaska next to Don Young's arrest for the Mariannas/Abramoff
stuff.

[Blue_In_AK]

20. Wouldn't it be great to see them both go down?

And as far as the "paltriness" of the half million or whatever, Weyhrauch was indicted for being offered a JOB, no money even changed hands. It's pretty sad how cheaply some of these guys can be bought.

[progressoid]

21. Oh, it's probably all just a misunderstanding.

I bet one of Ted's internet tubes is just clogged.