Originally published Wednesday, October 8, 2008 at 12:00 AM
Comments (0)
E-mail article
Print view
Stevens jurors hear FBI tape of plot
Two friends of Sen. Ted Stevens schemed to conceal that one was paying for expensive remodeling and repairs at the senator's cabin in Alaska...
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON — Two friends of Sen. Ted Stevens schemed to conceal that one was paying for expensive remodeling and repairs at the senator's cabin in Alaska, according to FBI audiotapes played Tuesday at Stevens' corruption trial.
Bill Allen and Bob Persons are heard on tape fretting in February 2006 after Stevens contacted Allen about a $1,000 plumbing bill that says, "Labor paid for by Bill."
"We need to make that disappear from [the plumber's] records," Persons said in one conversation captured by an FBI wiretap of Allen's phones. "Tell him Ted's paying for everything. I mean, that's the safest thing, Bill."
Allen, the government's star witness, and Persons, a neighbor who helped oversee the cabin makeover, agreed that Allen should get a check from Stevens for the work. But they also decided that instead of cashing it, it should be photocopied and saved in case the senator was ever investigated for ethics violations.
"If it ever comes up, you say, 'He paid me for that,' " Persons said.
Stevens, 84, is accused of lying on Senate financial-disclosure forms to conceal more than $250,000 in home renovations and gifts from Allen, the former chief of an oil-pipeline company. The Republican patriarch of Alaska politics hopes for an acquittal before voters go to the polls next month to decide whether to return him to the Senate seat he's held for 40 years.
Allen concluded his testimony Tuesday after spending nearly four days on the witness stand detailing a relationship with Stevens that spanned two decades. Prosecutors used Allen to attack Stevens' claim that he was clueless about the extent of free work that Allen and his now-defunct company, VECO, did on the cabin.
Before he left the stand, Allen quoted Stevens as saying during one of their many dinners together, "I know you're putting more work in there than what you're saying."
Allen testified as part of a plea deal in a bribery investigation of Alaska legislators. On cross-examination Tuesday, he testified that in addition to possible leniency at his sentencing, Allen has millions of dollars riding on his cooperation.
Under the terms of a $380 million sale last year of VECO, the buyer was allowed to withhold $70 million until able to determine whether Allen's cooperation helps deflect criminal charges against the company itself.
Jurors on Monday heard conversations — secretly recorded by Allen — in which Stevens proclaimed his innocence while advising Allen to keep a low profile.
"I don't think we've done anything wrong, Bill," Stevens said on the tape. "I tell you right now, I've told my lawyer I can't think of a thing we've done that's wrong."
Copyright © 2008 The Seattle Times Company
E-mail article
Print view Share:
Digg
Newsvine
![]()
Chase won't pay for Seattle's Lake Union fireworks next year
Group hopes to build 75-megawatt solar park near Cle Elum
Stalled Bellevue tower site won't be eyesore
The end of the line, for now: Tukwila is the jewel in the crown of Link
Regional vendors vying for veterinarians' attention at convention

Gen. David Petraeus: Iraq and Afghanistan Wars
Watch highlights of General David Petraeus discussing the Iraq and Afghanistan War at the Global Leadership Series sponsored by the World Affairs Council.
Entertainment | Top Video | World | Offbeat Video | Sci-Tech
nwjobs

Post a comment

Michelle Goodman blogs about work/life balance.
What not to wear to work this summer
Post a comment
nwhomes

Find a new home or condo that fits your lifestyle.
Search New Developments
Builder Directory
- Seattle-area homebuilder losing projects to foreclosure
- Health-plan costs soar for individuals
- Trees vs. houses: Narrow, leafy street is last chance for two Madrona homes waiting to be moved
- World's largest solar plant may be built in Cle Elum
- Driver killed, deputy and prisoner injured in head-on crash near Monroe
- House Democrats likely to alter intel bill
- Drunken man shocks Spain with his generosity
- Movie review | "Brüno" struts his stuff to hilariously expose intolerance
- Chase will no longer sponsor Lake Union fireworks
- 4 Ill. cemetery workers accused in grisly plot
- Mass. files lawsuit against federal marriage law
913 - Health-plan costs soar for individuals
523 - Texas Rangers at Seattle Mariners: 07/09 game thread
243 - Seattle Mariners GM Jack Zduriencik again declines to quell Yuniesky Betancourt trade rumors
145 - World's largest solar plant may be built in Cle Elum
126 - Trees vs. houses: Narrow, leafy street is last chance for two Madrona homes waiting to be moved
91 - Wednesday night notes
86 - Pay parking in West Seattle?
76 - Franklin Gutierrez bails Mariners out in a 3-1 win
75 - House Dems want to expand secret briefings
63
- Seattle-area homebuilder losing projects to foreclosure
- Health-plan costs soar for individuals
- World's largest solar plant may be built in Cle Elum
- Trees vs. houses: Narrow, leafy street is last chance for two Madrona homes waiting to be moved
- Grab the kids and hop on Amtrak for a stress-free getaway to Portland
- During financial crisis, the business of college sports is complicated by Title IX
- Local Smith & Hawken garden stores to close
- Green River Valley plans ahead for possible flooding
- Pay parking in West Seattle?
- Jerry Large | Issues of aging affect all









