FBI questions aides to Alaska's Sen. Stevens in corruption investigation

WASHINGTON — Former Capitol Hill aides to Sen. Ted Stevens are being questioned by the FBI as part of an investigation into the senator's relationship with a wealthy contractor.

It is the latest indication the Justice Department is scrutinizing the seven-term Alaska Republican in a public corruption investigation that has led to charges against state lawmakers and contractors.

A lawyer close to the case, speaking on condition of anonymity because the investigation is still under way, confirmed the FBI had recently questioned former Stevens aides about Bill Allen, a contractor who has pleaded guilty to bribing Alaska legislators.

Allen is the founder of VECO Corp., an Alaska-based oil field services and engineering company that has had tens of millions of dollars worth of federal contracts. Allen also oversaw renovations on Stevens' home in 2000, according to carpenters who worked on the house.

The FBI is looking closely at that project, which more than doubled the size of Stevens' home in the ski resort community of Girdwood, about 40 miles south of Anchorage. As recently as two weeks ago, FBI agent Randy Wolverton requested planning records pertaining to the renovation, according to city documents.

Wolverton, a white collar crime investigator and certified public accountant, normally works out of the FBI's office in Wichita, Kan., but FBI officials in Alaska said he was on temporary assignment there.

For more than a year, the investigation seemed to begin and end in Alaska and the Pacific Northwest. But federal prosecutors recently began presenting evidence before a Washington grand jury in the federal courthouse across the street from the U.S. Capitol.

A spokesman for Stevens had no comment on whether the senator was aware that former aides were being contacted or whether he was encouraging their cooperation. Stevens recently hired lawyers and has said the FBI told him to preserve documents.

Allen resigned as CEO of VECO and pleaded guilty along with company Vice President Rick Smith.

One of the lawmakers under scrutiny in Alaska is Stevens' son, Ben Stevens, a former Alaska Senate president. The younger Stevens was among several state lawmakers whose offices were raided by the FBI last year. He has not been charged and denies any wrongdoing.

Associated Press writer Rachel D'Oro contributed to this report from Anchorage.