Posted on 07/09/2007 5:27:43 PM PDT by Clintonfatigued
Ted Stevens, the longest-serving Republican senator and once the chief power broker for dispensing federal dollars, says he's worried that a corruption investigation "could cause me some trouble" in running for re-election next year.
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The 83-year-old Alaska Republican has drawn Justice Department scrutiny over a renovation project in 2000 that more than doubled the size of his home in a resort town surrounded by glaciers.
The remodeling was overseen by Bill Allen, a contractor who has pleaded guilty to bribing Alaska state legislators. Allen is founder of VECO Corp., an Alaska-based oil field services and engineering company that has reaped tens of millions of dollars in federal contracts.
Allen is cooperating with the FBI, and investigators appear to be looking at whether VECO got anything in return for the home improvement help.
Sen. Stevens, who has served since 1968, has been caught up in a larger probe that included FBI raids last summer at offices of six Alaska legislators — including Stevens' son, Ben, who was then the president of the state Senate.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
Let’s get the term limits movement going again.
That would probably be the biggest step in curbing political corruption and taking the money out of it.
he is a pork king.
No-one will ever take that title from “Byrd brains” of West Va.
The sad part is that as much as we like to criticize Robert Byrd (West Virginia) for his pork prowess - Ted Stevens is every bit as bad.
No freaking doubt. I was 2 when he was elected, and I’m no spring chicken!!
Great point. Unfortunately, members of congress have become nothing more than pork getters for their state and political whores to lobbyists.
I feel we really need a system where each state's federal expenditures are tied 1:1 to how much each state adds to the federal treasury. That would eliminate a lot of the money grabbing.
We also have to stop voting for the republican just because he is not a democrat - in far too many cases, the party is just a label the guy picked and says nothing about the way he will govern.
Personally, I'm voting 3rd party in every election except for my representative - all others have shown that they are corrupt.
I think you're right.
Ted Stevens’ lifetime ACU rating is 64.
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