Stevens (R) Alaska:Caught on tape by FBI

iVillage Member
Registered: 09-08-2008
Stevens (R) Alaska:Caught on tape by FBI
8
Tue, 10-07-2008 - 1:39am

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-stevens7-2008oct07,1,5743234.story

FBI tapes catch Sen. Ted Stevens with his guard down

Jose Luis Magana / Associated Press

Sen. Ted Stevens is on trial for accepting more than $250,000 in gifts and home improvements from oilman Bill J. Allen.

In secret recordings played for jurors, the Alaska Republican denies wrongdoing but acknowledges he could face fines or jail as a result of the corruption investigation against him.

By Richard B. Schmitt, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
October 7, 2008

WASHINGTON -- Caught on tape discussing the burgeoning corruption probe against him two years ago, Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens was both combative and pragmatic, denying in sometimes coarse language that he and a friend had done anything wrong but also acknowledging that they might face fines or even prison.

"You got to get a mental attitude that these guys can't really hurt us. They're not going to shoot us. It's not Iraq," the six-term Republican lawmaker said in a telephone conversation with oilman Bill J. Allen recorded by the FBI.

"Worst thing can happen to us is we run up a bunch of legal fees . . . and might have to pay a fine . . . might have to serve a little time in jail," Stevens continued. "I hope . . . it never comes to that . . . and I don't think it will. But I am developing the attitude that I don't think I did anything wrong, so I am going to go right through my life and keep doing what I think is right."

The recordings were made in August, September and October of 2006, with the permission of Allen, a longtime friend of Stevens who had just been confronted by federal agents about his role in an influence-peddling scheme involving state lawmakers in Alaska, including Stevens' son.

The tapes were played Monday for jurors as part of the government's case against Stevens, who is on trial for failing to report more than $250,000 in gifts and home improvements from Allen to a cabin he owns southeast of Anchorage.

Allen is the principal government witness against Stevens, but the tapes evoke a time when the men had a deep friendship, co-owning a thoroughbred racehorse and fishing for king salmon in the famed Kenai River in Alaska, among other bonding activities.

Stevens expresses concern on one of the recordings about a problem Allen had been having with low blood pressure, and rhapsodizes about the times the men attended high-end "boot camps" together to lose weight.

When the subject turns to the federal corruption investigation, he tells Allen the men ought to be careful about what they say to one another and avoid even the appearance of being uncooperative with investigators.

"They're probably listening to this conversation right now," Stevens said of federal agents.

"Well, they're not supposed to be," Allen said.

Stevens also noted that many people who come under scrutiny are never charged with crimes for which they are investigated but rather with failing to tell the truth and obstructing justice. At one point, he raised the example of lifestyle maven Martha Stewart, who was convicted of lying to investigators, rather than securities fraud, in a case about a well-timed stock sale.

"Let's not hasten this thing along and make it look like we are trying to stop them at the pass," the lawmaker said. "I am not afraid of them at all."

Later, the men commiserate about the entanglement.

"Hey, Ted, I am sorry this whole thing has happened," Allen said.

"Life is life. These things happen," Stevens replied, recounting a story about his uncle Walter, an inventor, getting in trouble with authorities.

"Attitude is what makes a difference," he said. "We are both going to live a long time if we do this right."

Stevens' lawyer Brendan V. Sullivan Jr. began his cross-examination of Allen after the tapes were played Monday. The government is expected to finish presenting its case against the senator by midweek.

iVillage Member
Registered: 09-08-2008
Tue, 10-07-2008 - 2:29am

Jury hears Sen. Stevens curse on wiretapped call

http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/10/06/stevens.trial/index.html

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The jury in the corruption trial of Sen. Ted Stevens Monday heard the Alaska Republican use an obscenity to describe the Justice Department investigators pursuing him, as prosecutors played audio of government wiretaps as evidence against him.

An artist's rendering shows former oil executive Bill Allen testifyig in the trial of Sen. Ted Stevens.

"I've never been up against a bunch like this one before," Stevens said in a September 2006 call, referring to prosecutors with the Justice Department's Public Integrity Section.

"I'm not getting much sleep. Maybe four hours, thinking about all this s--t coming down," he told Bill Allen, the former energy-company executive who is the government's star witness against Stevens.

He also told Allen he's "trying to figure out why these f---ers are doing this." Listen to audio of the Stevens wiretaps »

The veteran Alaska politician showed no reaction as the recordings were played in court.

Stevens is accused of failing to report as gifts hundreds of thousands of dollars of renovations to his Alaska home arranged by Allen and the energy services firm he headed, Veco Energy.

The senator pleaded not guilty in July and hopes to clear his name before standing for re-election in November.

Stevens is not accused of accepting bribes, which would require the government to prove he undertook specific actions in exchange for specific payment.

After prosecutors played a third recording, the government handed Allen to the defense for cross-examination.

Allen already has pleaded guilty to attempting to corrupt a number of Alaska officials -- not including Stevens -- and is cooperating with the prosecution.

As head of Veco, he used company employees and resources to improve and maintain the Stevens home in Alaska.

Allen testified that Veco staff who had worked on his own house had charged "way too much," leaving him uncertain how much to invoice Stevens for when he had his staff work on the senator's house.

"Here's the problem," Allen testified. "They did really screw up on my house, it was way too much, but I never really saw how much time or the money was spent on Ted's house. I didn't really, I've never seen an invoice. And so I had no idea how much, but I thought it was probably going to be too much."

Allen agreed with defense attorney Brendan Sullivan that he would be embarrassed to bill Stevens for overpriced labor on the house, and said he concealed some of the expense because it was "way too much."

Sullivan also asked Allen: "You never tried to bribe Sen. Ted Stevens, did you?"

Allen replied, "No."

Allen's testimony came after the defense Sunday urged the judge to throw the case out or declare a mistrial, arguing the prosecution had hidden evidence that would be beneficial to Stevens.

The judge is expected to rule Tuesday on the motion, the second time the defense has filed to dismiss the case.

U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan has given the prosecution until Monday night to respond to the defense motion and the defense until Tuesday morning to counter the prosecution response.

The motion is the second one filed by defense attorneys asking for a case dismissal or mistrial. Sullivan denied a similar motion last week.

The defense said Allen quashed some bills for the work on the Stevens home without telling the senator. Allen confirmed that argument on the stand last week, saying he had done it "because I like Ted."

The defense repeatedly has accused the government of concealing information that could help Stevens, the longest-serving Republican senator in history.

The judge last week berated the prosecution for withholding information such as an FBI investigator's report that Allen said Stevens would have paid his bills had he known about them. But Sullivan allowed the trial to proceed.

The bulk of the money the lawmaker is accused of trying to hide is related to construction and renovation at the Stevens family chalet in the ski town of Girdwood, Alaska, about 40 miles from Anchorage. His attorneys have said Stevens promptly paid the bills he knew about, but that his benefactor, Allen, concealed additional costs

iVillage Member
Registered: 08-19-2007
Tue, 10-07-2008 - 4:04am

It'll will be a pleasure to watch Ted Stevens get sentenced to prison. Maybe one day we'll have the pleasure of watching Tom Delay join him.

iVillage Member
Registered: 09-08-2008
Thu, 10-09-2008 - 3:56am
That would be justice.

iVillage Member
Registered: 10-08-2008
Thu, 10-09-2008 - 7:23am

Tubular. Totally.

That sure is one mavericky, anti-corruption state up there.

iVillage Member
Registered: 01-28-2004
Thu, 10-09-2008 - 8:29am
And Barney Frank and Chris Dodd......
iVillage Member
Registered: 09-26-2008
Thu, 10-09-2008 - 9:14am
and wide stance Larry and David Vitter.......
iVillage Member
Registered: 08-25-2008
Thu, 10-09-2008 - 9:29am
Hopefully Charlie Rangel will share the cell
iVillage Member
Registered: 10-07-2008
Thu, 10-09-2008 - 9:47am
Boy, this is tough on this board.