At Alaska corruption trial, VECO Executive testifies he bribed Ben Stevens
Breaking news courtesy of the Anchorage Daily News:
The former head of one of Alaska's largest oil field service companies admitted in court Thursday to bribing three former Alaska lawmakers, including former Senate President Ben Stevens, the son of U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens.
Former Veco Corp. CEO Bill Allen, 70, testified Thursday in the federal corruption trial of another former lawmaker, Pete Kott. Allen and a former company vice president, Rick Smith, have pleaded guilty to bribing lawmakers and are awaiting sentencing.
On the stand Thursday, Allen said he bribed Ben Stevens, Kott and Vic Kohring but did not elaborate during 15 minutes of testimony. Ben Stevens is under federal investigation but has not been charged.
NEW YORK (Reuters) 9/13/07 -
NEW YORK (Reuters) 9/13/07 - Oil hit an all-time high over $80 a barrel on Thursday after Hurricane Humberto forced the closure of some U.S. Gulf refiners, stoking concerns of fuel supply shortfalls.
U.S. crude traded up 9 cents to $80.00 a barrel by 2:15 p.m. EDT, after hitting a record $80.20 earlier. London Brent crude gave up 23 cents to $77.45 a barrel.
Syndicate this content
By Patrick Cockburn - The
By Patrick Cockburn - The Independent
Published: 14 September 2007
Last week George Bush flew into Iraq to meet Abdul-Sattar Abu Risha, leader of Anbar province
This week General David Petraeus told the US Congress how Anbar was a model for Iraq
Yesterday Abu Risha was assassinated by bombers in Anbar
Ten days after President George Bush clasped his hand as a symbol of America's hopes in Iraq, the man who led the US-supported revolt of Sunni sheikhs against al-Qa'ida in Iraq was assassinated.
Abdul-Sattar Abu Risha and two of his bodyguards were killed either by a roadside bomb or by explosives placed in his car by a guard, near to his home in Ramadi, the capital of Anbar, the Iraqi province held up by the American political and military leadership as a model for the rest of Iraq.
His killing is a serious blow to President Bush and the US commander in Iraq, General David Petraeus, who have both portrayed the US success in Anbar, once the heart of the Sunni rebellion against US forces, as a sign that victory was attainable across Iraq.
On Monday General Petraeus told the US Congress that Anbar province was "a model of what happens when local leaders and citizens decide to oppose al-Qa'ida and reject its Taliban-like ideology".
But yesterday's assassination underlines that Iraqis in Anbar and elsewhere who closely ally themselves with the US are in danger of being killed. "It shows al-Qa'ida in Iraq remains a very dangerous and barbaric enemy," General Petraeus said in reaction to the killing. But Abu Risha might equally have been killed by the many non al-Qa'ida insurgent groups in Anbar who saw him as betraying them.