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No Pol Left Behind in Alaska Corruption

Bribery scandal spreads from Juneau to DC

By Caroline Zimmerman,  Newser User

Posted Nov 12, 2007 4:07 PM CST

(Newser) – Back-room backslaps, pockets stuffed with $100 bills, and the odd Viagra pill—the Washington Post looks at the freewheeling frontier-style corruption exposed in oil-rich Alaska over the last few years, as elected representatives on every level were caught in scandals and many entered guilty pleas. Now the stain is threatening to spill out of Juneau to Washington, with the state's lone congressman and one senator under scrutiny.

Rep. Don Young has not been named in proceedings, but he's linked closely with Bill Allen, an oil executive caught on tape dishing out bribes; Allen's company is his biggest donor.  Sen. Ted Stevens is under investigation regarding additions to his home, and his son is accused by Allen, who pled guilty to corruption and bribery charges, of accepting a quarter-million-dollar bribe disguised as a consulting fee.

Former Alaska state Rep. Vic Kohring walks through the federal court building in Anchorage, Alaska, on Monday, Oct. 22, 2007, as jury selection began in his federal corruption trial. Kohring is accused of demanding and accepting up to $2,600 in cash and a $3,000 job for a relative...
Former Alaska state Rep. Vic Kohring walks through the federal court building in Anchorage, Alaska, on Monday, Oct. 22, 2007, as jury selection began in his federal corruption trial. Kohring is accused...   (Associated Press)
Former Alaska state Rep. Vic Kohring, left, walks with his attorney John Henry Browne from the federal court building in Anchorage, Alaska, Thursday, Nov. 1, 2007, after a jury found Kohring guilty on bribery, conspiracy and attempted interference with commerce by extortion. (AP Photo/Al Grillo)
Former Alaska state Rep. Vic Kohring, left, walks with his attorney John Henry Browne from the federal court building in Anchorage, Alaska, Thursday, Nov. 1, 2007, after a jury found Kohring guilty on...   (Associated Press)
Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska gestures during an interview with The  Associated Press, in his office on Capitol Hill in Washington in this April 12, 2007, file photo. (AP Photo/Lauren Victoria Burke, File)
Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska gestures during an interview with The Associated Press, in his office on Capitol Hill in Washington in this April 12, 2007, file photo. (AP Photo/Lauren Victoria Burke, File)   (Associated Press)
Bill Allen, former CEO of VECO Corp., left, walks through the federal court building in Anchorage, Alaska Friday Oct. 26, 2007 to testify in the corruption trial of former Alaska state Rep. Vic Kohring. (AP Photo/Al Grillo)
Bill Allen, former CEO of VECO Corp., left, walks through the federal court building in Anchorage, Alaska Friday Oct. 26, 2007 to testify in the corruption trial of former Alaska state Rep. Vic Kohring....   (Associated Press)
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