Republican Senator Ted Stevens Finally Indicted
Finally, after two years, Ted Stevens (R-AK) has been indicted. The stench of corruption has exuded from the long serving Alaska senator who is so arrogantly witless that he thinks the Internet is a series of tubes.
He is infamous for his budgetary pork barrel montrosity, the bridge to nowhere.
As reported in the NYTimes: "Senator Ted Stevens of Alaska, the longest-serving Republican senator in United States history and a figure of great influence in Washington as well as in his home state, has been indicted on federal corruption charges.
"Mr. Stevens, 84, was indicted on seven counts of failing to report income. The charges are related to renovations on his home and to gifts he has received. They arise from an investigation that has been under way for more than a year, in connection with the senator’s relationship with a businessman who oversaw the home-remodeling project.
"The indictment will surely reverberate through the November elections. Mr. Stevens, who has been in the Senate for 40 years, is up for re-election this year. Mark Begich, a popular Democratic mayor of Anchorage, hopes to supplant him.
"The Justice Department announced the charges at a news conference Tuesday afternoon. The document says that, from the spring of 1999 through the late summer of 2007, Mr. Stevens failed to report “things of value” that he received in connection with his home in the ski resort city of Girdwood, about 40 miles south of Anchorage.
"Prosecutors say Mr. Stevens, who referred to his home as “the chalet,” accepted goods and services worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, ranging from an outdoor grill to extensive home remodeling and architectural advice. Not only did Mr. Stevens fail to report the items on his Senate financial disclosure form, as required, but he took active steps to conceal the receipt of the goods and services, the indictment says.
"All the charges are felonies. Justice Department officials declined to discuss how long a prison term a conviction on the charges might bring, noting that the maximum sentences allowed by law are rarely imposed. Mr. Stevens was in Washington on Tuesday, and was allowed to turn himself in for paperwork processing."
The entire Alaska congressional delegation has been dishonest and wallowed in corruption. Currently Rep. Don Young is being investigated for involvement with the same company for which Ted Steves has been indicted.
The other Republican senator, Lisa Murkowski, after denying being involved in a shady land deal (buying real estate at a far lower dollar value than market price) with a real estate developer, sold back the property to the developer trying to extricate herself from the questionable transaction
For the reall nitty gritty about what has been going on with the corruption riddled Stevens, the best source is TPM Muckraker archive posts on his illegal felonious shenanigans. Great information is also available via TPMtv episodes. Check it out
These three Alaska Republican are certainly a motley crew.
Ted Stevens' indictment is well deserved even though a long time coming and a fitting end to his greedy, unethical and corrupt senate reign.
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