Video: Raw: DOJ announces Alaska Sen. Stevens indictment

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Stevens investigated for false statements on home renovation project

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Sen. Ted Stevens, the longest-serving Republican senator and a figure in Alaska politics since before statehood, was indicted Tuesday on seven counts of failing to disclose thousands of dollars in services he received from a company that helped renovate his home.

Stevens, the first sitting U.S. senator to face federal indictment since 1993, has been dogged by a federal investigation into his home renovation project and his dealings with wealthy oil contractors. The investigation has upended Alaska state politics and cast scrutiny on Stevens -- who is running for re-election this year -- and on his congressional colleague, Rep. Don Young of Alaska, who is also under investigation.

AP

In this Oct. 16, 2007 file photo, Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, right, accompanied by Sen. John Sununu, R-N.H., meets reporters on Capitol Hill in Washington. Stevens, the longest-serving Republican senator, has been indicted.

Prosecutors said Stevens received more than $250,000 in gifts and services from VECO Corp., a powerful oil services contractor, and its executives. From May 1999 to August 2007, prosecutors said, the 84-year-old senator concealed "his continuing receipt of hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of things of value from a private corporation."

The indictment unsealed Tuesday says the items included: home improvements to his vacation home in Alaska, including a new first floor, garage, wraparound deck, plumbing, electrical wiring; as well as a Viking gas grill, furniture and tools. He also was accused of failing to report swapping an old Ford for a new Land Rover to be driven by one of his children.

Justice Department said Stevens will not be arrested and will be allowed to turn himself in.

AP/Al Grillo

In this July 30, 2007 file photo, federal agents search the Girdwood, Alaska, home of Sen. Ted Stevens. Stevens, the longest-serving Republican senator and a figure in Alaska politics since before statehood, has been indicted on seven counts of falsely reporting hundreds of thousands of dollars in services he received from a company that helped renovate his home.

Stevens has adamantly denied any wrongdoing but he said little else publicly about the investigation. Messages left at both Stevens' Senate office in Washington and his campaign office in Anchorage were not immediately returned. His attorney also did not return calls.

Lawmakers react

On Capitol Hill, Sen. John Warner, R-Va., called Stevens a hero, adding, however, he didn't know any details about the indictment. "All of us have time that we have to deal with that are tough," Warner said. "I wish him the best."

"I've known Ted Stevens for 28 years and have always known him to be impeccably honest,' said Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., another longtime colleague.

"Ted is one of the most effective and honest legislators I have ever worked with. He has worked diligently to serve Alaska and has fought to make life better for people in every region of our state. I hope people will not rush to judgment and will let the judicial process work. The process is based on being innocent until proven guilty," said U.S. Rep. Don Young, R-Alaska. 

"I was shocked to learn of today's announcement. I know Ted Stevens to be an honorable, hard-working Alaskan who has served our state well for as long as we have been a state. As to the charges, we are at the beginning of the criminal process and there is a judicial procedure in place that will be followed," said U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska.

Following the money

Prosecutors said Stevens "took multiple steps to continue" receiving things from oil services company VECO Corp., and its founder, Bill Allen. At the time, the indictment says, Allen and other VECO employees were soliciting Stevens for "multiple official actions .... knowing that Stevens could and did use his official position and his office on behalf of VECO during that same time period."

VECO's requests included funding and other aid for the oil services company's projects and partnerships in Pakistan and Russia. It also included federal grants from several agencies -- as well as help in building a national gas pipeline in Alaska's North Slope Region, according to the indictment filed in U.S. District Court in Washington.

A moderate Republican, Stevens has served almost 40 years in the Senate, where he unabashedly steered money to toward his remote and sparsely populated home state. He often drew criticism, however, for going around the traditional appropriations process to fund his pet projects.

The Justice Department has closely followed that money, looking for where it intersects with the senator's son, Ben.

A lobbyist and former state senator, Ben Stevens was paid as a consultant for many in the fishing industry who benefited from legislation his father drafted. When Ted Stevens created a $30 million marketing fund for Alaska seafood, Ben Stevens helped decide which companies got the money. Some were his clients.

Ben Stevens also had financial ties to a company that stood to make millions off a piece of federal legislation his father wrote. But he repeatedly has said he never lobbied his father and both men have dismissed such criticism for years.

Details of indictment

Details of the seven-count indictment charging Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, with failing to disclose more than $250,000 worth of renovations on his Girdwood, Alaska, home and other gifts he received from VECO Corp., an Alaska oil services company, and its founder, Bill Allen:

•From 1999-2006: Stevens knew he was required to list any gifts of nominal value on his yearly financial disclosure reports and "knowingly and intentionally sought to conceal and cover up his receipt of things of value by filing Financial Disclosure Forms that contained false statements and omissions concerning Stevens' receipt of these things of value."

•Summer 2000 to end of 2001: "VECO incurred over $200,000 in materials, labor and other costs in connection with the work that VECO employees and contractors performed at (Stevens) Girdwood Residence. These costs included, but were not limited to, approximately $81,775.18 in materials, labor, architectural design and services, and other costs from approximately June 2000 to December 31, 2000, and approximately $110,153.64 in the first three and a half months of 2001 alone."

•2002: "The work performed by VECO employees and contractors at the Girdwood Residence included, among other projects, the installation of a first-floor wraparound deck, a plastic roof between the first- and second-floor decks, a heat tape system on the roof of the Girdwood Residence, and the installation and partial removal of rope lighting on multiple portions of the property. These projects cost VECO approximately $55,000."

•2004-2005: "Stevens contacted Allen and VECO employees multiple times to request that VECO employees or contractors perform additional tasks at the Girdwood Residence. These tasks included, without limitation, the installation of multiple kitchen appliances and maintenance on the heat tape system on the roof of the Girdwood Residence. ... Stevens contacted Allen and VECO employees multiple times to request that VECO employees or contractors perform additional tasks at the Girdwood Residence. These tasks included, without limitation, roof and gutter repairs, electrical wiring, and the replacement of sensors."

•2006: Allen assigned workers to repair the boiler and heating system at the Girdwood residence.

•In each case, the indictment says, Stevens knew that the work on the house he often referred to as "the chalet" was done by VECO employees and contractors. Stevens, however, "never paid or reimbursed VECO at any time for the cost of materials provided and labor performed by VECO and its employees at the Girdwood Residence," the indictment said.