POLITICS

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ALASKA'S HAT TRICK OF CORRUPTION

PROGRESS REPOT - Alaska may be the second youngest state in the country,
but it's also one of the most corrupt. The state's entire congressional
delegation -- Sens. Ted Stevens (R) and Lisa Murkowski (R) and Rep. Don
Young (R) -- is now embroiled in a series of scandals and criminal
investigations that threaten to topple Alaska's oil industry-friendly
political leadership. Much of the corruption involves Alaska's "largest
oil-field engineering firm," Veco Corp., which is "entwined in a broad
federal investigation that has led to the indictment of four current and
former Alaska politicians and ensnared former Alaska Senate President
Ben Stevens, son of Ted Stevens."

Ted Stevens is "the most senior Republican in the U.S. Senate and
Alaska's most famous political figure." He's also the subject of
investigations by the FBI and a federal grand jury over an "extensive
remodeling project" done to his home in 2000. The contractors for this
major project, which added a new floor to Stevens's house, happened to
be hired by longtime Veco Corp. CEO Bill Allen. Allen and another
company executive pleaded guilty in May to federal conspiracy, bribery
and tax charges, and they are now cooperating with authorities. . .

The Wall Street Journal revealed this week that 18-term Alaska
congressman Don Young is also under criminal investigation in the
widening probe into "alleged influence-peddling and self-dealing in
Congress," and Allen again plays a prominent role. For a decade, "Allen
has held fund-raisers for Mr. Young in Anchorage every August, known as
'The Pig Roast.'" Veco employees and its PAC have contributed at least
$157,000 to Young between 1996 and 2006, the last year the event was
held. Young has often skated ethics rules closely. The self-proclaimed
"little oinker" has arranged several highly-suspect pork projects,
including the infamous "Bridge to Nowhere," and his former staffer was
convicted as part of the Jack Abramoff corruption probe. Young has now
"hired a criminal-defense team and has said his campaign committee has
paid $262,000 in legal fees in the past three months."

Alaska's other senator, Lisa Murkowski, has come under fire in recent
weeks for buying a prime riverfront lot on Alaska's Kenai River lot "at
a cut-rate price from a major campaign contributor." Wealthy Alaskan
real estate developer and political supporter Bob Penney sold a
1.27-acre waterfront lot for $179,000 to Murkowski's husband, Verne
Martell. "Three days after the borough recorded the Murkowskis'
purchase, the assessed value went up to $214,900. So right off the bat,
it looks like she got a discount of 20 percent." But the discount was
"probably far bigger. The online real estate listing service for Alaska
has one Kenai riverfront lot. The parcel is only one acre -- a quarter
of an acre less than Sen. Murkowski's -- but the asking price is
$399,000. Per acre, that's almost three times what the senator paid for
hers." Last month, the National Legal and Policy Center filed a 25-page
ethics complaint against Murkowski with the Senate committee.
Murkowski's deal factors into the other scandals -- Bob Penney, who sold
her husband the lot, also testified last year before a grand jury "about
his cozy relationship" with Stevens.

http://www.americanprogressaction.org/progressreport

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DEMOCRATS HEAD LIST OF CONGRESS MEMBERS ON THE DEFENSE CONTRACTOR DOLE

PROJECT ON GOVERNMENT OVERSIGHT - Stephen Trimble, on his blog, The Dew
Line, has compiled a fairly comprehensive list of campaign contributions
received by members of Congress from seven of the top defense
contractors. The list also includes "political action committees"
receiving contributions. Trimble found that the combined total equaled
roughly $3 million for the first half of this year. It's also
eye-opening that a majority of congressional members, regardless of
party affiliation, have received contributions from at least one or more
of these seven contractors. Here's Trimble's list of the top 10
individual recipients. All of them are Democrats except for Sen.
Collins.

1. Rep. Silvestre Reyes 2. Sen. Carl Levin 3. Rep. Steny Hoyer 4. Sen.
Jack Reed 5. Rep. Joe Courtney 6. Rep. James P. Moran Jr. 7. Rep. John
P. Murtha 8. Rep. Ike Skelton 8. Rep. Bennie G. Thompson (tie) 9. Rep.
James Clyburn 10. Sen. Susan Collins

ABC's The Blotter reported earlier this year on the large increases in
contributions that Democrats have received from special interests since
becoming the majority party.

http://pogoblog.typepad.com/pogo/2007/07/top-defense-con.html

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