Prosecutors say friend of ‘Big Oil’ was on the take – and lied about it

[social_buttons]Long time Republican Senator Ted Stevens, perhaps best known today for his advocacy of federal funding for the “bridge to nowhere” and his reference to the internet as a “series of tubes,” has been indicted by a federal grand jury on corruption charges. Stevens faces seven counts of making false statements involving an investigation about VECO, the oil services company in Alaska, and renovations done on his home.

From May 1999 to August 2007, prosecutors said Stevens concealed “his continuing receipt of hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of things of value from a private corporation.” The indictment released Tuesday said 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 car exchanges, a Viking gas grill, furniture and tools, the Associated Press reports.

VECO was once the dominant force in Alaska oil services industry. Its founder, Allen, and vice president, Rick Smith, have pleaded guilty to bribing state lawmakers to push legislation to help the company. While it is unclear what, if any, direct relationship there may have been between VECO and the push to drill in ANWR, the implications do not bode well for the Republican, who was thought to be a shoe-in when he faced re-election this November.

Not exactly a friend of the environment

Earlier this month Stevens had the dishonorable distinction of being named to the League of Conservation Voters’ “Dirty Dozen,” an annual compilation of current and former members of Congress who consistently vote against the environment.

Stevens has been one of the biggest global warming deniers delayers in congress over the last several decades. Last September, he told the people of Shishmaref, a village that has lost hundreds of feet of coastline to rising sea levels, not to worry, because “We’re at the end of a long, long term of warming. 700 to 900 years of increased temperature, a very slow increase. We think we’re close to the end of that.”

“For forty years in the Senate, Ted Stevens has stood in the way of progress. Today, he literally lives in the house that oil built,” League of Conservation Voters President Gene Karpinski said. “With his scandalous ties to the oil industry finally exposed, Alaska has the chance to let Mr. Stevens retire to that nice house.”

The indictment stops short of charging Stevens with bribery or other traditional corruption crimes. Had prosecutors been able to prove any special treatment for VECO, much stronger charges would have been filed.

Stevens has maintained he didn’t do anything for VECO that he didn’t do for any other constituent or pro-Alaska interest.

Related Posts:

Photo: Wikimedia