IN ALASKA A CORPORATE "SPECIAL PROJECT" MEANS BRIBING TED STEVENS AND DON YOUNG

I hope that by now all DWT readers know that VECO Corp. is an oil services contractor that made itself extraordinarily wealthy by purchasing the affections of the Alaska Republican Party. Now the company's managers and employees are spilling all the beans for the Grand Jury, the FBI, the IRS and other law enforcement agencies and local Republicans are being found guilty-- and turning on each other, especially Republicrooks higher up on the food chain. And at the tippy-top of that food chain are two of the biggest crooks in American politics, Senator Ted Stevens and Congressman Don Young.

One key witness in the bribery investigation is Robert Williams, the man VECO head-honcho-- and briber numero uno-- put in charge of "special projects."

the renovation of Stevens' home was one such project. Others included working three or four fundraisers for Stevens while on the clock with VECO. Federal elections laws prohibit candidates from accepting donations or free services from corporations.

Unlike other VECO employees, Williams did not itemize his time sheets with job codes so customers could be billed. When working on one of Allen's pet projects, Williams just logged his hours and VECO made sure he was paid... Williams said he also helped run annual fundraising pig roasts for Rep. Don Young, another Alaska Republican who has come under scrutiny in the VECO investigation.

...Fundraising and favors are at the heart of the corruption investigation, which has ensnared several Alaska legislators. Allen has pleaded guilty to bribing lawmakers and is cooperating with the FBI. He admitted in court last week that his employees provided "some labor" on Stevens' house in 2000, but Williams recalled the job in greater detail.

This afternoon Congressional Quarterly reported on how the revelations about Young's ethical and, potentially, criminal problems are playing out politically. "Candidates are lining up for the 2008 contest to take on Alaska Republican Rep. Don Young, whose current brush with ethics controversy is producing an unusually strong challenge to the political dominance he has enjoyed over more than three decades in the state’s sole House seat."

There's a grassroots progressive, last year's candidate, Diane Benson but the Inside-the-Beltway Democratic boys club is also encouraging more establishment figures to run-- ex-Democratic Party of Alaska Chairman Jake Metcalfe, Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich, or ex-state House minority leader Ethan Berkowitz.


UPDATE: STEVENS LIKES WIRETAPS BUT NEVER THOUGHT THEY'D USE 'EM ON HIM

You think I make this stuff up? I'm not that good. Watch:



Isn't it time for the Stevens family to leave politics and start getting ready for their well-earned lives behind bars? And what about the Senate Ethics Committee? Do any of the members have pulses?