Alaskan Congressional Delegation Facing Mounting Legal Trouble; Two Members Now Under Criminal Investigation

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While Congress has officially begun it's August recess, members of the Alaskan congressional delegation may be finding it difficult to relax.

Both Sen. Ted Stevens (R) and Rep. Don Young (R) are currently under federal investigation for possibly taking bribes, illegal gratuities and unreported gifts from Veco Corp., an Anchorage-based oil services company. Last week, federal agents searched the home of Stevens as part of the probe, focusing on records related to his relationship with the company. Several weeks ago, the Wall Street Journal reported that Young is indeed part of the investigation as well.

In May 2007, two Veco executives pleaded guilty to bribing Alaskan state officials, including Ted Stevens’ son, Ben. While neither Ted Stevens nor Young were cited in the plea, both have had extensive relations with the firm in the past. In 2000, Veco organized an “extensive” remodeling project at Stevens’ home which more than doubled the size of his house. Former VECO chief executive Bill Allen, who is awaiting sentencing after his guilty plea, spearheaded the remodeling project by hiring the contractors and directing them to send him the same bills that were being sent to Stevens. It remains unclear whether, or to what degree, Veco paid for the services.

Allen has also been heavily involved with Young, holding an annual fundraiser for him in each of the past ten years. During this time, Young received $157,000 from Veco employees and its political action committee. Similar to Stevens, it remains unclear what favors Young may have done for Veco while in Congress. It is worth noting, however, that the company has been the recipient of numerous federal contracts over the past few years, including several to provide logistical support for Arctic research.

Meanwhile, Alaska’s only other member of Congress, Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R), has also come under fire in the past few weeks. In 2006, Murkowski purchased a piece of land on the Kenai River from Bob Penney, an Alaskan businessman with ties to both Stevens and Veco (Penney, Stevens, and former CEO Allen together own stakes in a racehorse). Murkowski purchased the land (valued at $300,000) for less than half its market value, leading some to argue that the transaction amounted to an illegal gift. Murkowski failed to report the transaction on her 2006 financial disclosure form, and later claimed it was exempt because a clause in the Senate ethics manual states “property which is held or maintained solely for recreational or personal purposes does not have to be reported.” Murkowski recently agreed to sell the property.

Citizen and staff editors on the Congresspedia project have been closely following the controversies surrounding Stevens, Young, and Murkowski, along with all members of Congress (past and present) under investigation. Be sure to check out and edit the comprehensive page on these investigations, as well as the individual profiles of all of these troubled members.