COLD WIND BLOWING DOWN ON GOP FROM ALASKA AS TED STEVENS COMES CLOSER TO INDICTMENT ON BRIBERY CHARGES

I'm getting tired of this drip, drip, drip of charges about Ted Stevens, Don Young and Lisa Murkowski, Alaska's 3-member congressional delegation. Why can't it be over already and the three of them all posing for photos in their prison cells? But... it's never that easy, especially not with well-connected politicians. Anyway, let's catch up a little. One of the biggest, if not the biggest Republican rainmaker in Alaska, Bill Allen, has been bribing virtually the whole state GOP, from Senator Stevens right down to the lowliest state legislator. I kid you not; practically the state's entire GOP has been taking bribes from the oilman and his cronies. He's cooperating with the FBI and helping them roll up one corrupt Republican lawmaker after another.

Thursday Allen, the former head of VECO, an oil service company, said in open court what the Stevens family hoped they would never hear. He confessed to having bribed Alaska's former state Senate President, Ben Stevens, son of Ted Stevens.

"Although Allen and Veco characterized these payments as being for consulting services (to Ben Stevens), Allen acknowledges that in actuality the payments were in exchange for giving advice, lobbying colleagues, and taking official acts in matters before the legislature," an FBI statement said when Bill Allen was indicted.

Stevens has also pocketed over $659,000 from the At-Sea Processors Association (APA) and other fisheries companies to serve as a "consultant" between 2000 and 2005. The APA, the Alaska Fisheries Marketing Board, and his father Senator Ted Stevens are all currently under FBI and IRS investigation.

Allen is cooperating in a massive FBI corruption investigation that as of September 13th, 2007, has snagged two of the state's three members of Congress, one of their aides the ex-president of the state Senate, four state legislators, and two VECO executives.

Veco's bribes of $243,250 to Stevens between 2002 and 2006 documented in charges against Allen precisely match the amount Stevens reported on his financial disclosures as consulting income to his company, Ben Stevens and Associates.

It's not small potatoes and VECO was getting their money's worth from the Stevens family-- at the expense of taxpayers, of course. Yesterday's Washington Post emphasized that the Stevenses weren't the only Republicans on the VECO payroll. "Allen said he bribed [Peter] Kott, former state Senate President Ben Stevens and former Rep. Vic Kohring." Like all Republicans caught in the act, Stevens denies everything. Next he'll blame the Clintons and then alcohol and then offer to turn someone else in for a shorter sentence.

Today's Roll Call has an update based on today's testimony. Allen admitted "using company funds to pay some of the construction costs associated with Sen. Ted Stevens’ (R-Alaska) home remodeling project as well as using a small number of company employees to do the work." Ted Stevens hasn't been arrested yet. His comment: No comment.