Federal grand jury investigating ties between Senator Stevens and troubled oil company, Veco. Inc.
The plot thickens in the scandal surrounding Alaska's senior Senator, Ted Stevens. In an unguarded interview with the Washington Post, Senator Stevens acknowledged that he was told by the FBI to preserve records. Today's Anchorage Daily News reports that a federal grand jury is looking at the relationship between Stevens and Veco Inc. Top officials from Veco Inc. have already pleaded guilty to conspiracy and bribery charges:
A federal grand jury in Washington, D.C., heard evidence last month about the expansion of U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens' Girdwood home in 2000 and other matters connecting Stevens to the oil services company Veco Inc.
As the far-reaching federal investigation into corruption in Alaska politics spreads to Washington, Stevens family friend and neighbor Bob Persons was ordered to appear before a grand jury in Washington on May 25. The government directed him to produce documents related to the work on Stevens' Girdwood house, especially to work that might have been performed by Veco and contractors who were hired or supervised by Veco.
Another close associate of Stevens, Anchorage businessman Bob Penney, testified two weeks ago before the federal grand jury in Anchorage that has been gathering evidence in the corruption cases.
The house expansion project, first reported in the Daily News on May 29, more than doubled the size of the home. The Stevenses had asked Persons, who lives above the Double Musky restaurant he owns in Girdwood, to help them oversee the addition while they were in Washington.
The existence of the Washington grand jury investigation is the strongest indication to date that Stevens himself has become a subject of the wide-ranging federal probe that surfaced with FBI raids on state legislative offices last August. Former State Sen. Ben Stevens, Ted Stevens' son, was among the legislators whose offices were searched. Ben Stevens has denied wrongdoing.
Kenneth Lay, CEO Enron
traded hard on his extensive political connections which he had acquired over 25 years. He had been very close to George Bush, father and son, from early on. Enron was a pipeline company which Lay tried to diversify into other commodities and areas. His primary commodity was gas, and he confused natural gas with hot gas as he relied on political connections to bully and defraud his way about, and so built Enron into a house of cards which finally collapsed under its own weight.
He was the ruin of thousands of innocents and a few not-so-innocent.
Looks bad for Senator Stevens, Senior Republican of Congress
whose son Ben, formerly Alaskan State Senator, also is being investigated by the DoJ. Driving these investigations is the co-operation of one Bill Allen, CEO of Veco, an Anchorage based engineering and construction giant and an old friend of Stevens. Allen has been nabbed by Justice on charges of bribery. It has been his wont to purchase elected officials over the years.
Now he is turning evidence against Stevens, father and son.
It would be fine irony if Allen, having been the agent of their corruption, now puts the ones he corrupted into prison.
Now, let's take a look at Halliburton.
Syndicate this content
Former Enron broadband exec
Former Enron broadband exec gets 27-month sentence
By JOHN PORRETTO AP Business Writer
HOUSTON — The former chief of Enron Corp.'s high-speed Internet unit, who turned government witness and testified in the trial of former Enron CEO Jeffrey Skilling and company founder Kenneth Lay, was sentenced Monday to 27 months in prison.
It's been nearly three years since Kenneth Rice, 48, pleaded guilty to securities fraud and agreed to help federal prosecutors on other cases related to the energy giant's collapse. His sentencing was postponed as he cooperated with prosecutors.
Before sentencing, Rice apologized for his role in the corporate scandal.
"I'm sorry. I wasn't raised that way and I'm ashamed of that," he said, beginning to cry. "I'm committed to turning my life around."
Lay and Skilling were convicted last year for their roles in the company's collapse. Skilling is serving a sentence of more than 24 years. Lay's convictions for conspiracy, fraud and other charges were wiped out with his July death from heart disease.
Rice had faced up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $1 million. The plea agreement with prosecutors also required him to forfeit $13.7 million in cash and property that included jewelry and a pair of exotic sports cars.
Rice was charged in 2003 with selling 1.2 million shares of Enron stock for more than $76 million while he knew Enron Broadband Services was failing. The more than 40 counts against him included fraud, conspiracy and other charges for participating in a scheme to tout Enron's broadband network as having capabilities it didn't have to impress analysts and inflate the company's stock.
According to the Justice Department, the unit never made a dime and was abandoned shortly after Enron's bankruptcy filing in December 2001. Although Enron was primarily an energy trader, the broadband unit was created in 1998 as another growth engine during the dot-com boom.