Stevens' fishing buddy becomes star witness

WASHINGTON — A longtime friend of Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens testified Tuesday that he gave the Republican senator thousands of dollars in gifts.

Stevens gave no indication he even saw former fishing and drinking buddy Bill Allen enter the courtroom, and the two men barely looked at each other as Allen testified about the expensive gifts he gave Stevens during their 26-year friendship.

Stevens, 84, is on trial for failing to disclose in Senate financial documents about $250,000 in gifts and favors from Allen and others.

"That's Ted, right over there," Allen said, pointing across the crowded courtroom to Stevens.

At the heart of the case is a massive home-renovation project in which Allen helped transform the senator's small A-frame cabin in Girdwood into a two-story home with a garage, sauna, wine cellar and wraparound porches.

There were other favors, too, said Allen, who founded the now-defunct multibillion-dollar oilfield-services company VECO. In late 1999, Allen said, Stevens feared that the Y2K computer bug would leave his house in the dark.

"So I went and got a generator and put it in," Allen testified.

"Did he ask you for this?" prosecutor Joseph Bottini asked.

"Yeah, he said he needed a generator," Allen responded, his head lowered, as he told jurors that Stevens never paid for the generator.

At the apex of their careers, the two friends held nearly unrivaled power. Stevens was a master of the Senate, a beloved figure in Alaska who steered billions of dollars to his home state. Allen was a self-made millionaire who could summon state lawmakers to his hotel room for drinks and tell them how to vote.

Wearing an electronic hearing aid and speaking slowly because of a head injury suffered in a motorcycle accident, Allen at times seemed wistful about those days, and about his lost friendship.

"We really liked each other, you know?" Allen said. "Ted really worked hard. Ted loved Alaska, and I loved Alaska."

But the Justice Department corruption investigation targeting Stevens changed everything.

Confronted with overwhelming evidence against him, Allen turned on the senator. The last time the two men spoke, FBI agents were listening in. Since then, Allen has pleaded guilty to bribing Alaska lawmakers, sold his company and turned against his old friends in hopes of reducing his own prison time.

Prosecutors spent much of Tuesday trying to bolster Allen's credibility by discussing a career that took him from picking crops to running VECO.

In the past few days, VECO employees have testified to working long hours at Stevens' home south of Anchorage, building a balcony and a roof, installing a custom staircase and a generator, upgrading the electrical system and more.

Allen spent 90 minutes on the stand Tuesday and was expected to spend most of today discussing the house project.

The senator says he never asked Allen for any free work. He said he made it clear he wanted his friend to send him every bill for the job. If freebies were tacked on, he said, Allen did so without telling him.

Along with the house project, Stevens is charged with cutting a sweetheart car deal with Allen.

In 1999, Stevens traded his average-condition 1964 Mustang convertible and $5,000 to Allen for a new, loaded $44,000 Range Rover.

Allen testified he thought Stevens got the better end of that deal by $5,000 to $10,000 but said he went through with it "because I liked Ted." Other times, he undercut that claim, saying the Mustang was a good investment that has appreciated.

Prosecutors are moving quickly through their witness list and said they could rest their case as soon as Thursday. Stevens would begin presenting his defense Monday.

Stevens' lawyers are expected to challenge Allen's credibility and competence as a witness.

Information from the Los Angeles Times is included in this report.