Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington - Ted Stevens

Stevens Trial Update: “Don’t worry about giving a bill, Ted’s just covering his ass.”

crew — Thu, 2 Oct 2008 06:51:59 -0500

Yesterday, at the trial of U.S. Senator Ted Stevens, testimony revealed that while Senator Stevens sent a request for a bill to Veco for the renovations done on the "chalet." But, we're led to believe Senator Stevens didn't really want the bill:

In October 2002, Stevens sent a handwritten note to Allen asking him for a bill to pay for those renovations, citing strict Senate ethics rules on gift-giving.

“When I think of the many ways in which you make my life easier and more enjoyable, I lose count,” Stevens said in the thank-you note, which was admitted as evidence Wednesday.

“Friendship is one thing, compliance with ethics laws is different,” Stevens added.

In the note, Stevens said that a friend who was helping oversee the renovations, Bob Persons, a local restaurant owner near his home in Girdwood, Alaska, would remind Allen to give the senator a bill for the work.

In court on Wednesday, Allen said that Persons signaled that the senator only wanted cover by asking for a bill.

“Don’t worry about giving a bill, Ted’s just covering his ass,” Allen said Persons told him in 2002.

Sitting across the crowded courtroom, Stevens remained expressionless, and barely made eye contact with his former close friend of some 25 years.

Allen said he “really didn’t want” to send Stevens bills for Veco’s work “because I wanted to help Ted” and “because I like him.”

The government hopes the testimony will undercut one of Stevens’s main lines of defense: that the senator would have paid for all costs if Allen disclosed additional renovations he made when the senator was working 3,500 miles away on Capitol Hill.

Stevens Trial Update: "Star Witness" Bill Allen, from Veco, testified about gifts and renovations

crew — Wed, 1 Oct 2008 09:11:18 -0500

Yesterday, the jury heard the from the former head of Veco Corp., Bill Allen. The company and its executives have been instrumental players in a number of Alaska's public corruption cases. Observers seem to view Allen as the government's key witness in the case against Senator Stevens. The prosecution could rest its case as early as tomorrow:

The government’s star witness against Ted Stevens gave dramatic testimony Tuesday that he lavished the Republican senator with gifts and arranged widespread renovations to the senator’s chalet in a ski town in Alaska.

Bill Allen, in the first of two days of testimony that could determine the outcome of the case, described his close personal friendship with Stevens and how he, as head of the now-defunct Veco Corp. oil-services firm, played the main role in the gift-giving scandal that has landed the longest-serving Senate Republican in criminal court.

Stevens Trial Update: Stevens wants judge to declare mistrial or dismiss case

crew — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 08:31:44 -0500

Drama in the court room. Claims that evidence was withheld. A witness has "switched sides?:

Sen. Ted Stevens accused prosecutors of withholding evidence in his gift-giving trial after a weekend in which a key government witness apparently switched sides mid-trial and told defense attorneys that important facts were being ignored.

In court documents filed just before midnight Sunday, the Senate's longest-serving Republican asked a judge to dismiss the corruption case or declare a mistrial.

Stevens is charged with lying on Senate financial disclosure forms about more than $250,000 in free home renovations and other gifts he received from VECO Corp., a powerful Alaska oil pipeline contractor.

Former VECO employees have testified that they spent countless hours working on the senator's home, building a balcony, a custom steel staircase, a new roof and more. Such testimony was expected to continue Monday as prosecutors tried to persuade jurors that Stevens must have known he was getting freebies.

Dana Milbank: Stevens "blamed his wife"

crew — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 08:59:41 -0500

Tough analysis of opening arguments in the trial of U.S. Senator Ted Stevens. The defendant's lawyer blamed the defendant's wife:

Sen. Ted Stevens, his career and his freedom in jeopardy, did the honorable thing as he went on trial yesterday on corruption-related charges. He blamed his wife.

Yes, Stevens, the first sitting senator to be indicted in a generation, failed to report a home renovation and other pricey gifts from a pipeline company. But, his lawyer told the jury yesterday, it was his wife who reviewed the bills and took care of the finances.

"You have to look at the relationship between Ted and Catherine, because it says something about what happened here," superlawyer Brendan Sullivan declared. In fact, he said, the Stevens family has a saying: "When it comes to things around the tepee, the wife controls. That might seem old-fashioned, but Ted Stevens is old-fashioned."

And rather ungallant.

Stevens Trial Update: "We reach for the yellow pages, [Stevens] reached for Veco.”

crew — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 11:51:08 -0500

Opening arguments began this morning in the trial of U.S. Senator Ted Stevens. The "chalet" is at the center of the case:

Sen. Ted Stevens used one of Alaska’s biggest employers has his "own personal handyman service," and never paid Veco Corp. for hundreds of thousands of dollars of work done on his home, a federal prosecutor said Thursday, as she outlined the government's case for finding him guilty of lying on financial disclosure forms.

"You’ll learn that the defendant never paid Veco a dime for the work on the chalet. Not a penny," the lead Justice Department prosecutor, Brenda Morris, told jurors in the opening minutes of the trial against the senator.

The jury will be hearing from many of the people who did the work on his home in Girdwood, Alaska, Morris said, referring to the A-frame cabin as Stevens did: as the "chalet.”

"If the defendant needed an electrician, he contacted Veco. If the defendant needed a plumber, he contacted Veco,” she said. "We reach for the yellow pages, he reached for Veco.”

Stevens Trial Update: The jury has been selected

crew — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 13:05:37 -0500

Game on:

Lawyers for Sen. Ted Stevens and federal prosecutors have picked a jury in his corruption trial. After a day and a half of jury selection, the pool was narrowed to 12, with four alternates.

The trial of Senator Stevens: "Ted gets hysterical when he has to spend his own money."

crew — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 08:21:01 -0500

Jury selection is expected to conclude today in the trial of U.S. Senator Ted Stevens. Testimony should begin tomorrow.

The Los Angeles Times previews the prosecution case against Stevens:

The telephone conversation between the two businessmen concerned an old friend, Sen. Ted Stevens of Alaska, and the subject was money -- or at least Stevens' feelings about it.

"Ted gets hysterical when he has to spend his own money," said one of the callers.

"I know," replied the other.

In a corruption case where the core issue is whether Stevens knowingly accepted gifts in violation of federal law, the conversation, secretly recorded by federal investigators, could be crucial evidence.

On one end was a restaurateur who oversaw the remodeling of Stevens' Alaska home. Prosecutors contend the senator never paid for the improvements. On the other end was an oil executive accused of helping bankroll the home makeover and showering Stevens and his family with other gifts in violation of federal law.

The recording is part of the evidence that prosecutors hope jurors will hear as Stevens goes to trial this week in federal court in Washington. Jury selection began Monday.

The Senate's longest-serving Republican was indicted in July on charges of failing to disclose in financial reports $250,000 in improvements at his home in Girdwood, Alaska, and other gifts, including a Viking gas grill and a bargain price on a new Land Rover.

We'll be monitoring reports from the court house.

Jury selection underway for trial of Ted Stevens

crew — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 09:00:58 -0500

Yesterday, the action began in the trial of U.S. Senator Ted Stevens. Two days of jury selection are expected, with opening arguments expected tomorrow. The Anchorage Daily News has an in-depth report on day one:

The trial of U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens began Monday morning with the start of jury selection and a glimpse of some of the people who may be testifying over the next four weeks.

Among the potential witnesses are four U.S. senators, former Secretary of State Colin Powell, former Alaska Gov. Bill Sheffield, Stevens' wife, Catherine, and three of his children. Also: the manager of a Fairbanks strip club and a woman with whom the lead witness, former Veco chairman Bill Allen, was reported to have had sexual relations when she was underage.

In all, U.S. District Court Judge Emmet Sullivan read more than 200 names of potential witnesses for Stevens' trial on seven felony counts of failing to disclose more than $250,000 in gifts he received from 1999 to 2006.

The naming of witnesses to the pool of potential jurors is a normal part of a criminal trial -- it allows jurors to disclose whether they know anyone who will be testifying. But the range of witnesses from the powers of Washington to the underworld of Alaska was breathtaking.

It also included such current and former heavyweights in the Alaska Native community as Cook Inlet Region Inc. chairman Margie Brown, former Cook Inlet Region Inc. president Carl Marrs and the former chairman of the Arctic Slope Regional Corp., Oliver Leavitt.

Jury selection got started in a large ceremonial courtroom more than an hour late as jurors stuck in traffic or unable to find the courthouse straggled in. The court summoned 150 District of Columbia residents for the trial, from which a dozen plus alternates will be selected.

Judge rejects "Speech and Debate clause" defense from Senator Stevens. Trial starts next week.

crew — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 13:28:04 -0500

The trial of Ted Stevens will begin next week here in Washington:

The 84-year-old Stevens, the Senate's longest-serving Republican, is set to stand trial on charges of lying in Senate disclosure records about hundreds of thousands of dollars in gifts and home renovations he received from VECO Corp., an oil pipeline services company. VECO Corp. is now owned by Denver-based CH2M Hill.

He has pleaded not guilty to all seven counts and has pushed to get his trial completed before Alaskans vote Nov. 4 on his re-election.

Stevens did not appear at the Tuesday status hearing, but he will have to be in Washington for the trial while his Democratic opponent is campaigning in Alaska.

His lawyers had argued that the whole case is based on information related to his work as an Alaska senator. They also said the government wants to introduce evidence that would require Stevens to talk about his official work to defend himself.

The Constitution prohibits the executive branch, which includes the Justice Department, from using its law enforcement authority in a way that interferes with legislative business under what is called the "speech-or-debate" clause.

But Sullivan said Tuesday he did not see enough of a reason to throw the whole case out. He also said the prosecutors can use their evidence, but he will watch to be sure they don't go too far. Sullivan also said he expects defense lawyers to object to anything that violates Stevens' rights.

"Any potential violation can be thwarted at trial," Sullivan said.

Most Corrupt Spotlight: Senator Ted Stevens (R-AK)

crew — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 10:17:12 -0500

Over the next few weeks, we'll shine the spotlight on the most corrupt members of Congress as named in our aptly named report, CREW's Most Corrupt.

Today, we're starting with Senator Ted Stevens. We'll be writing a lot about the Senator from Alaska over the next few weeks as his corruption-related trial starts in less than two weeks. That alone explains why he earned the "most corrupt" designation. But, there's more. From our report:

Ted Stevens (R-AK) is a seventh-term senator, representing Alaska. Sen. Stevens is the ranking member of the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee and sits on several other Appropriations subcommittees. Sen. Stevens’ ethics issues stem from his ties to the VECO Corporation; earmarks he has inserted for companies that paid his son, Ben Stevens; his relationship with his brother-in-law, lobbyist William Bittner; his relationship with Alaskan real estate developers Jonathan Rubini and Leonard Hyde; and the activities of his non-profit, The Ted Stevens Foundation. Sen. Stevens was indicted by a federal grand jury on June 29, 2008 on seven counts of making false statements. Sen. Stevens was included in CREW’s 2007 congressional corruption report.

Federal Indictment

On July 29, 2008, Sen. Stevens was indicted by the Department of Justice for making false statements on his financial disclosure forms. The indictment alleges that beginning in May 1999 through August 2007, Sen. Stevens engaged in a scheme to conceal “his continuing receipt of hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of things of value” from VECO and its chairman, Bill Allen, by failing to report them on his financial disclosure forms. The things of value included home improvements to the Girdwood residence, automobiles, household goods, and tools, totaling over $250,000. Sen. Stevens pleaded not guilty to all seven counts on July 31, 2008.

According to the indictment, as part of the scheme, while Sen. Stevens was receiving gifts from VECO, he used his official position on VECO’s behalf. VECO asked Sen. Stevens for: funding and assistance with international VECO projects and partnerships, including some in Pakistan and Russia; multiple federal grants and contracts to benefit VECO, including grants from the National Science Foundation to a VECO subsidiary; assistance on federal and state issues in connection with the effort to construct a natural gas pipeline from Alaska’s North Slope region.

By failing to include gifts from VECO and Mr. Allen on his personal financial disclosure forms from 2000 through 2006, the government has alleged that Sen. Stevens made false statements in violation of the Ethics in Government Act.

Ben Stevens

Sen. Stevens has repeatedly used his legislative powers to benefit companies that have hired his son, former Alaska State Senator Ben Stevens, as a consultant. Sen. Ted Stevens pushed through legislation for Cook Inlet Region, Inc., Special Olympics, North Pacific Crab Association, Bearing Sea Crab Effort Reduction Fund, Norquest Seafood, Adak Fisheries and Southwest Alaska Municipal Conference while they were paying his son consulting fees.

By using his position to provide legislative assistance or earmarks to companies that hired his son as a consultant, Sen. Stevens may have accepted bribes, committed honest services fraud and engaged in improper conduct that reflects upon the Senate.

William Bittner, Jonathan Rubini and Leonard Hyde

William Bittner is Sen. Stevens’ brother-in-law, an Anchorage lawyer and a Washington, D.C. lobbyist. In 1997, Mr. Bittner approached his friend, Mr. Rubini, about possible investments for Sen. Stevens. Mr. Rubini arranged for Sen. Stevens to be part of a new syndicate, JLS Properties, whose members were Mr. Rubini, Leonard B. Hyde, Stuart Bond and Sen. Stevens. All partners except Sen. Stevens were required to personally guarantee any debts that the syndicate might acquire, as well as provide additional capital as needed for syndicate projects. The three other partners each invested $200,000, while Sen. Stevens invested just $50,000. JLS Properties was very successful and by the start of 2001, Sen. Stevens’ investment was worth between $250,000 and $500,000. In 2003, Sen. Stevens reported that his investments with Mr. Rubini, Mr. Hyde, and Mr. Bond were worth between $750,000 and $1.5 million.

Elmendorf Housing Project

In 2000, Mr. Rubini and a group of investors including Mr. Bittner, Mr. Hyde, and Mr. Bond bid on a $450,000,000 federal contract to build private housing at Elmendorf Air Force Base in Alaska. When the Air Force tried to back out of the deal, Sen. Stevens stepped in and helped resolve the matter in Mr. Rubini’s favor.

National Archives and Records Administration Relocation Project

In 1998, the National Archives and Records Administration (“NARA”) began the process of securing a new facility for documents in Alaska. In 1998 and 1999, Sen. Stevens earmarked more than $1.7 million for a site selection study to determine where in Anchorage NARA’s new archives building would be located. A particular piece of property owned by a group of retired school teachers was selected for the site, but the teachers were never told. Sen. Stevens earmarked more money to purchase the land. At that point, Mr. Rubini and Mr. Hyde bought the land from the teachers and then turned around and sold the land to NARA at a significant profit. Despite the government’s purchase of the land, the new NARA building was never built. Officials at NARA confirm that they were contacted during the summer of 2007 by staff on the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Subcommittee on Federal Financial Management, Government Information, Federal Services and International Security, which is investigating NARA’s purchase of property from Mr. Rubini and Mr. Hyde.

If Sen. Stevens used his position to financially benefit Mr. Bittner, Mr. Rubini and Mr. Hyde in exchange for being included in real estate deals that allowed him to reap significant profits, he may have accepted bribes, committed honest services fraud, accepted illegal gratuities and engaged in improper conduct which reflects upon the Senate.

The Ted Stevens Foundation (a/k/a the North to the Future Foundation)

The North to the Future Foundation, previously the Ted Stevens Foundation, is a non-profit 501(c)(3) foundation founded in 2000 to promote increased communications among Alaskans, encourage amateur athletics and “to honor the career of Senator Ted Stevens by making the papers and mementos of his career available to the public and to support programs similar to those he has supported.” The foundation’s chairman is a lobbyist and treasurer of the Sen. Stevens’ campaign committee and many of its donations come from businesses that need Sen. Stevens’ legislative assistance.

If Sen. Stevens provided legislative assistance in exchange for donations to his foundation, he may have accepted bribes or illegal gratuities and engaged in improper conduct which reflects upon the Senate.