Federal Bribery Investigations
On July 24, 2007, the Wall Street Journal reported that Representative Don Young was under federal investigation for possibly taking bribes, illegal gratuities or unreported gifts from VECO. Between 1996 and 2006, Young received $157,000 from VECO employees and its political action committee. In the first half of 2007, Young spent more than $250,000 of campaign contributions for legal fees.
Alaska State House representatives Pete Kott, Bruce Weyhrauch and Vic Kohring were all charged with federal crimes as part of the investigation into VECO.
On May 29, 2007, the Anchorage Daily News reported that the FBI and a federal grand jury were investigating an "extensive" remodeling project at Senator Ted Stevens' home in Girdwood, Alaska. The remodeling work, organized by VECO, more than doubled the size of the home (public records show that the home is now 2,471 square feet (229.6 m2) and valued at about $441,000). The repairs could have cost anywhere between $130,000 and 250,000, and the payments Ted Stevens paid were about $160,000. Stevens' Alaska home was raided by the FBI and IRS on July 30, 2007. Stevens was indicted by a federal grand jury on July 29, 2008 on seven counts alleging that Stevens received hundreds of thousands of dollars in gifts that he did not declare on his US Senate financial disclosure forms. Stevens was convicted on all seven of these charges on October 27, 2008. All the convictions were vacated on April 7, 2009 due to gross prosecutorial misconduct.
Read more about this topic: VECO Corporation
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