Sen. Ted Stevens (R-AK)

Ted Stevens (R-AK) is a seventh-term senator, representing Alaska.  Sen. Stevens is the ranking member of the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee and sits on several other Appropriations subcommittees.  Sen. Stevens’ ethics issues stem from his ties to the VECO Corporation; earmarks he has inserted for companies that paid his son, Ben Stevens; his relationship with his brother-in-law, lobbyist William Bittner; his relationship with Alaskan real estate developers Jonathan Rubini and Leonard Hyde; and the activities of his non-profit, The Ted Stevens Foundation.  Sen. Stevens was indicted by a federal grand jury on June 29, 2008 on seven counts of making false statements. Sen. Stevens was included in CREW’s 2007 congressional corruption report.

Federal Indictment

On July 29, 2008, Sen. Stevens was indicted by the Department of Justice for making false statements on his financial disclosure forms.  The indictment alleges that beginning in May 1999 through August 2007, Sen. Stevens engaged in a scheme to conceal “his continuing receipt of hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of things of value” from VECO and its chairman, Bill Allen, by failing to report them on his financial disclosure forms.  The things of value included home improvements to the Girdwood residence, automobiles, household goods, and tools, totaling over $250,000. Sen. Stevens pleaded not guilty to all seven counts on July 31, 2008.

According to the indictment, as part of the scheme, while Sen. Stevens was receiving gifts from VECO, he used his official position on VECO’s behalf.  VECO asked Sen. Stevens for: funding and assistance with international VECO projects and partnerships, including some in Pakistan and Russia; multiple federal grants and contracts to benefit VECO, including grants from the National Science Foundation to a VECO subsidiary; assistance on federal and state issues in connection with the effort to construct a natural gas pipeline from Alaska’s North Slope region.

By failing to include gifts from VECO and Mr. Allen on his personal financial disclosure forms from 2000 through 2006, the government has alleged that Sen. Stevens made false statements in violation of the Ethics in Government Act.        

Ben Stevens

Sen. Stevens has repeatedly used his legislative powers to benefit companies that have hired his son, former Alaska State Senator Ben Stevens, as a consultant.  Sen. Ted Stevens pushed through legislation for Cook Inlet Region, Inc., Special Olympics, North Pacific Crab Association, Bearing Sea Crab Effort Reduction Fund, Norquest Seafood, Adak Fisheries and Southwest Alaska Municipal Conference while they were paying his son consulting fees.

By using his position to provide legislative assistance or earmarks to companies that hired his son as a consultant, Sen. Stevens may have accepted bribes, committed honest services fraud and engaged in improper conduct that reflects upon the Senate.            

William Bittner, Jonathan Rubini and Leonard Hyde

William Bittner is Sen. Stevens’ brother-in-law, an Anchorage lawyer and a Washington, D.C. lobbyist.  In 1997, Mr. Bittner approached his friend, Mr. Rubini, about possible investments for Sen. Stevens.  Mr. Rubini arranged for Sen. Stevens to be part of a new syndicate, JLS Properties, whose members were Mr. Rubini, Leonard B. Hyde, Stuart Bond and Sen. Stevens. All partners except Sen. Stevens were required to personally guarantee any debts that the syndicate might acquire, as well as provide additional capital as needed for syndicate projects. The three other partners each invested $200,000, while Sen. Stevens invested just $50,000.  JLS Properties was very successful and by the start of 2001, Sen. Stevens’ investment was worth between $250,000 and $500,000.  In 2003, Sen. Stevens reported that his investments with Mr. Rubini, Mr. Hyde, and Mr. Bond were worth between $750,000 and $1.5 million.

Elmendorf Housing Project

In 2000, Mr. Rubini and a group of investors including Mr. Bittner, Mr. Hyde, and Mr. Bond bid on a $450,000,000 federal contract to build private housing at Elmendorf Air Force Base in Alaska. When the Air Force tried to back out of the deal, Sen. Stevens stepped in and helped resolve the matter in Mr. Rubini’s favor.

National Archives and Records Administration Relocation Project

In 1998, the National Archives and Records Administration (“NARA”) began the process of securing a new facility for documents in Alaska. In 1998 and 1999, Sen. Stevens earmarked more than $1.7 million for a site selection study to determine where in Anchorage NARA’s new archives building would be located.  A particular piece of property owned by a group of retired school teachers was selected for the site, but the teachers were never told. Sen. Stevens earmarked more money to purchase the land.  At that point, Mr. Rubini and Mr. Hyde bought the land from the teachers and then turned around and sold the land to NARA at a significant profit. Despite the government’s purchase of the land, the new NARA building was never built. Officials at NARA confirm that they were contacted during the summer of 2007 by staff on the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Subcommittee on Federal Financial Management, Government Information, Federal Services and International Security, which is investigating NARA’s purchase of property from Mr. Rubini and Mr. Hyde.

If Sen. Stevens used his position to financially benefit Mr. Bittner, Mr. Rubini and Mr. Hyde in exchange for being included in real estate deals that allowed him to reap significant profits, he may have accepted bribes, committed honest services fraud, accepted illegal gratuities and engaged in improper conduct which reflects upon the Senate.

The Ted Stevens Foundation (a/k/a the North to the Future Foundation)

The North to the Future Foundation, previously the Ted Stevens Foundation, is a non-profit 501(c)(3) foundation founded in 2000 to promote increased communications among Alaskans, encourage amateur athletics and “to honor the career of Senator Ted Stevens by making the papers and mementos of his career available to the public and to support programs similar to those he has supported.”  The foundation’s chairman is a lobbyist and treasurer of the Sen. Stevens’ campaign committee and many of its donations come from businesses that need Sen. Stevens’ legislative assistance.

If Sen. Stevens provided legislative assistance in exchange for donations to his foundation, he may have accepted bribes or illegal gratuities and engaged in improper conduct which reflects upon the Senate.

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