By , Associated Press, September 29, 2008
29 Sep 2008 // WASHINGTON (AP) — Employees of an oil services firm say they worked overtime to remodel Sen. Ted Stevens' cabin in Alaska — labor that prosecutors say wasn't paid for by the veteran legislator.
Testifying Friday at Stevens' corruption trial, two electricians told jurors they were dispatched to the cabin in 1999 to install a generator and again in 2000 to rewire the home.
Prosecutors say the work was among many gifts VECO Corp. showered on Stevens, who never reported receiving them. The defense claims he didn't know the extent of the work or how it was paid for because his wife controls the checkbook.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Sen. Ted Stevens had a generous friend. Generous to a fault. In fact, the Alaska senator says, it's his friend's fault he's on trial for corruption.
Charged with lying about receiving more than $250,000 in home renovations and gifts, Stevens was back in court Friday where employees of VECO Corp. testified that they installed a $6,000 backup generator at the senator's cabin — one of several gifts prosecutors say the oil services firm showered on the senator to win his favor.
Stevens' lawyer has described him as having been in the dark about the renovations project and blamed his friend Bill Allen, chairman VECO, for "devious" gift-giving that landed the senator in trouble.
Stevens, 84, has been a Senate powerhouse and Alaska benefactor for generations but his influence has been weakened by the lengthy FBI investigation leading to the charges. He faces an unusually tight re-election battle and the Republican vice presidential nominee, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, has not endorsed the man who helped bring her to power.
"Ted Stevens' trial started a couple of days ago," Palin said Thursday. "We'll see where that goes."
Over his lengthy career, prosecutors say Stevens became a crafty lawmaker who learned how to accept gifts without drawing attention to himself. The focus of their case is a complicated 2000 home remodeling project that greatly increased the size of Stevens' hillside chalet in Girdwood, Alaska.
Rather than hiring a home contractor, Stevens relied on Allen to manage the project, hire the carpenters and review the bills.
"We reach for the yellow pages, he reached for VECO," prosecutor Brenda Morris told jurors during opening statements. "And the defendant never paid a dime."
Stevens said he was clueless about the cost and scope of the project, saying his wife controlled the checkbook. Defense attorney Brendan Sullivan said that when Stevens had a message for her, he communicated through his Senate aides.
"They have a saying in their house that when it comes to things in and out of the teepee, the wife controls," Sullivan said.
Sullivan said Catherine Stevens paid every bill received for the project, $160,000 in all. He said the couple was adamant that all the bills be paid. But the senator was in Washington, 3,300 miles away from the job site, and Sullivan said Stevens can't be held responsible for any freebies or work done by Allen that wasn't billed.
"You cannot report what you don't know," Sullivan said. "You can't fill out a form and say what's been kept from you by the deviousness of someone like Bill Allen."
Prosecutors, however, say the senator was well aware that those bills didn't include work done by VECO employees. For instance, Stevens offered to pay a VECO architect for drawing up the house plans, but when the architect referred him to VECO for any bills, prosecutors say Stevens never followed up and never paid.
Former VECO employees were scheduled to take the stand Friday to talk about other gifts bestowed upon the senator such as a gas grill, the generator, an elaborate rope lighting system, a sled dog and a sweetheart deal on a car.
Sullivan told jurors Thursday that Stevens "didn't want these things, he didn't need these things and he didn't ask for these things."
Just as Stevens accepted gifts from Allen, prosecutors say Allen tapped the senator for help winning government grants and navigating Washington's bureaucracy. Citing Stevens' reputation for steering money and business to Alaska, Sullivan embraced the suggestion.
"If you hear evidence that he assisted Bill Allen or VECO in any way so those 4,000 employees could continue to work, they're right," Sullivan said. "There's absolutely nothing wrong with it. He's proud of it. Bring it on."
Allen has pleaded guilty to bribing Alaska lawmakers and is the government's star witness against Stevens. He is expected to testify soon but was not due to take the stand Friday.