Ted Stevens Convicted on Corruption Charges
Ted Stevens (R-AK) has always been high on my list of Congressional assholes. His push to get the Bridges To Nowhere funded, and subsequent tirade when people dared oppose him on it, shot him up to #1. But his success at bringing home the bacon to his Alaskan constituents made him a favorite. His 38-year career in the Senate made him a force to be reckoned with in Washington.
This summer he was charged with lying about receiving free gifts from VECO, an energy company (oil processing equipment and pipelines) and one of Alaska's largest employers, on whose behalf he intervened, and today he was convicted on 7 counts. "Stevens' conviction hinged on the testimony of Bill Allen, the senator's longtime drinking and fishing buddy. Allen, the founder of VECO, testified that he never billed his friend for the work on the house and that Stevens knew he was getting a deal."
Allen pleaded guilty in May 2007, paying out more than $400,000 "in corrupt payments" to Alaska officials.
"Stevens faces up to five years in prison on each count when he is sentenced Jan. 26, but under federal sentencing guidelines, he is likely to receive much less prison time, if any. Despite being a convicted felon, he is not required to drop out of the race or resign from the Senate. If he wins re-election, he can continue to hold his seat because there is no rule barring felons from serving in Congress. The Senate could vote to expel Stevens on a two-thirds vote."
While Senator Stevens isn't done yet, he's certainly wounded. The next step comes at the voting booth. Voters in Alaska can either come to his aid and dare the Senate to come up with the votes to expel him or stagger away from the trough and perform a coup de grâce on his political career.
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DED
This summer he was charged with lying about receiving free gifts from VECO, an energy company (oil processing equipment and pipelines) and one of Alaska's largest employers, on whose behalf he intervened, and today he was convicted on 7 counts. "Stevens' conviction hinged on the testimony of Bill Allen, the senator's longtime drinking and fishing buddy. Allen, the founder of VECO, testified that he never billed his friend for the work on the house and that Stevens knew he was getting a deal."
Allen pleaded guilty in May 2007, paying out more than $400,000 "in corrupt payments" to Alaska officials.
"Stevens faces up to five years in prison on each count when he is sentenced Jan. 26, but under federal sentencing guidelines, he is likely to receive much less prison time, if any. Despite being a convicted felon, he is not required to drop out of the race or resign from the Senate. If he wins re-election, he can continue to hold his seat because there is no rule barring felons from serving in Congress. The Senate could vote to expel Stevens on a two-thirds vote."
While Senator Stevens isn't done yet, he's certainly wounded. The next step comes at the voting booth. Voters in Alaska can either come to his aid and dare the Senate to come up with the votes to expel him or stagger away from the trough and perform a coup de grâce on his political career.
\_/
DED
Labels: corruption, government_waste
posted by DED at 4:33 PM
4 Comments:
I'm not especially interested in seeing an old man go to priosn, but it'll be nice to send his ass out of DC and back to Alaska.
Maybe he and Sarah can sit on the porch, chew on pork rinds, and look out for Vlad's plane coming across the Bering Straight.
Sounds like the perfect job for those two.
But, but, but Ted Stevens was part of the "Greatest Generation." He must have been set up!
Methinks it went to his 'ead.
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