Alaska Sen. Stevens Under Investigation

[cal04]

Ted Stevens, the longest-serving Republican senator and once the chief power broker for dispensing federal dollars, says he's worried that a corruption investigation "could cause me some trouble" in running for re-election next year.

The 83-year-old Alaska Republican has drawn Justice Department scrutiny over a renovation project in 2000 that more than doubled the size of his home in a resort town surrounded by glaciers.

The remodeling was overseen by Bill Allen, a contractor who has pleaded guilty to bribing Alaska state legislators. Allen is founder of VECO Corp., an Alaska-based oil field services and engineering company that has reaped tens of millions of dollars in federal contracts.

Allen is cooperating with the FBI, and investigators appear to be looking at whether VECO got anything in return for the home improvement help.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070709/ap_on_go_co/stevens_investigation_6

[LSparkle]

1. He's on that bridge to nowhere ...

Or out surfing the "internets" ... Alaska needs to get MIKE GRAVEL back in that seat!!!!

[Blue_In_AK]

4. He'd need to come back to Alaska first...

He's been gone for about 20 years. Never fear, though ... we have several excellent potential Democratic candidates waiting in the wings for both Stevens' and Don Young's seats. Watch for these names: Diane Benson (already declared for Young's seat); Mark Begich (son of the late Rep. Nick Begich), currently Anchorage's mayor and being lobbied hard to run by the DCCC; also former state representatives Ethan Berkowitz and Eric Croft. Any of these four would be excellent representatives/senators for our state.

[Blue_In_AK]

2. Nice to see this getting coverage beyond Alaska. :-)

[BuyingThyme]

3. Oil guys are great at home renovations

I don't see a conflict here.