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Alaska Political Corruption Probe
The Alaska political corruption probe refers to a 2003 to 2010 widespread investigation by the Public Integrity Section of the U.S. Department of Justice, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Internal Revenue Service into political corruption of nine then-current or former Alaskan state lawmakers, as well as Republican US Representative Don Young and then-US Senator, Republican Ted Stevens. Sometimes referred to as "The Corrupt Bastards Club" or the "Operation Polar Pen", the investigation focused on the oil industry, fisheries and for-profit prison industries. By the spring of 2006, the FBI set up in a Baranof hotel suite just three blocks away from the capitol building in Juneau. From their position in the hotel suite, they gathered evidence, such as a videotape of VECO's CEO Bill Allen arranging paper money for legislators, and made other observations. By August 2008, the investigation resulted in indictments against six sitting or former Alaska Republican state legis ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Public Integrity Section
The Public Integrity Section (PIN) is a section of the Criminal Division of the U.S. Department of Justice charged with combating political corruption at all levels of government through the prosecution of corrupt federal, state, and local elected and appointed public officials. Role The Public Integrity Section holds exclusive jurisdiction over prosecution of alleged criminal misconduct by federal judges, monitors the investigation and prosecution of election and conflict of interest crimes. It consolidates into one unit the U.S. Department of Justice's oversight responsibilities for prosecuting criminal abuses of the public trust by elected and appointed government officials. In addition to prosecuting cases, PIN also advises and assists prosecutors and agents in the field in handling public corruption cases. PIN has about 30 prosecutors who "travel the country to help local United States attorney's offices develop complex and often politically contentious corruption cases". ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
VECO Corporation
VECO Corporation was an American oil pipeline service and construction company until its purchase in September 2007 by CH2M Hill. As of that date, the VECO Corporation ceased to exist. Founded in 1968 as Veltri Enterprises by Wayne Ray Veltri, renamed VE Construction after being bought in 1970 by Bill Allen and in 1979 changed to VECO Corp. The company grew to become a major player in the Alaskan oil industries' support. VECO also was a worldwide player in the oil industry, having divisions in many major oil markets. Exxon Valdez oil spill On March 24, 1989, the oil tanker Exxon Valdez ran aground on Bligh Reef, spilling eleven million gallons of crude oil into the waters of Prince William Sound. The Exxon Valdez oil spill was the largest in United States history. VECO was responsible for large parts of the spill's clean up, hiring 2,500 workers to clean up the environmental disaster. Voice of the Times VECO's Ex CEO, Bill Allen, paid for the publishing of the "Voice of th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eagle River, Alaska
Eagle River is a community within the Anchorage, Alaska, Municipality of Anchorage situated on the Eagle River (Cook Inlet), Eagle River, for which it is named, between Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson (JBER) and Chugach State Park in the Chugach Mountains. Its ZIP code is 99577. Settled by homesteaders, Eagle River has been annexed to the Municipality of Anchorage since the 1970s—a relationship that is, at times, complicated. On the one hand, Eagle River functions as an Anchorage suburb--many Eagle River residents work, shop, and participate in community life in the Anchorage Bowl. On the other hand, the community is itself a significant business hub between Wasilla and Anchorage, offering shopping, restaurants, recreation and employment. Much of the community is made up of residents from nearby Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson. Secession efforts have from time to time gained traction by residents who would like Eagle River legally regarded as a separate community. Eagle River also ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pete Kott
Peter Kott (born 1949) is a former Republican state representative for District 17 serving Eagle River, Alaska, in the Alaska Legislature for seven terms, from 1993 until 2007. He was Speaker of the House during his sixth term in 2003–2004. On May 4, 2007, Kott was one of three former or current legislators (the others being Bruce Weyhrauch (R-Juneau) and Vic Kohring (R-Wasilla)) arrested and charged with bribery, extortion, and other corruption-related charges involving allegations of soliciting and receiving money and favors from VECO Corporation executives in return for their votes on an oil tax law favored by the VECO.Burke, Jill. (2007-05-04)"Kott, Weyhrauch and Kohring arrested for corruption." KTUU Channel 2 News, Anchorage. Retrieved on 2007-05-07. Kott pleaded not guilty to all charges.Mauer, Richard, Lisa Demer, Sabra Ayres and Kyle Hopkins. (2007-05-05) ''Anchorage Daily News''. Retrieved on 2007-05-24. On September 25, 2007, a federal jury found Kott guilty on thre ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alaska House Of Representatives
The Alaska House of Representatives is the lower house in the Alaska State Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Alaska. The House is composed of 40 members, each of whom represents a district of approximately 17,756 people per 2010 census figures. Members serve two-year terms without term limits. With 40 representatives, the Alaska House is the smallest state legislative lower chamber in the United States. The House convenes at the State Capitol in Juneau. Powers and process Members of the Alaska House of Representatives are responsible for a portion of the process of making and amending state law. The first step of the legislative process is filing a bill by giving it to the chief clerk of the Alaska House of Representatives.Legislative Process , Alaska Legislature (accessed April 27, 2013) The chi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Anchorage, Alaska
Anchorage, officially the Municipality of Anchorage, is the List of cities in Alaska, most populous city in the U.S. state of Alaska. With a population of 291,247 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it contains nearly 40 percent of the state's population. The Anchorage metropolitan area, which includes Anchorage and the neighboring Matanuska-Susitna Borough, Alaska, Matanuska-Susitna Borough, had a population of 398,328 in 2020, accounting for more than half the state's population. At of land area, the city is the List of cities in the United States by area, fourth-largest by area in the U.S. Anchorage is in Southcentral Alaska, at the terminus of the Cook Inlet, on a peninsula formed by the Knik Arm to the north and the Turnagain Arm to the south. First settled as a tent city near the mouth of Ship Creek, Alaska, Ship Creek in 1915 when construction on the Alaska Railroad began, Anchorage was incorporated as a city in November 1920. In September 1975, the City of A ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party, also known as the Grand Old Party (GOP), is a Right-wing politics, right-wing political parties in the United States, political party in the United States. One of the Two-party system, two major parties, it emerged as the main rival of the then-dominant Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party in the 1850s, and the two parties have dominated American politics since then. The Republican Party was founded in 1854 by anti-slavery activists opposing the Kansas–Nebraska Act and the expansion of slavery in the United States, slavery into U.S. territories. It rapidly gained support in the Northern United States, North, drawing in former Whig Party (United States), Whigs and Free Soil Party, Free Soilers. Abraham Lincoln's 1860 United States presidential election, election in 1860 led to the secession of Southern states and the outbreak of the American Civil War. Under Lincoln and a Republican-controlled Congress, the party led efforts to preserve th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Cowdery
John Joe Cowdery (February 11, 1930 – July 13, 2013) was a Republican member of the Alaska Senate, representing the O District from 2001 through 2008. He was previously a member of the Alaska House of Representatives from 1982 through 1984, and from 1997 through 2000. Corruption In 2008 Cowdery was indicted on charges of conspiracy and bribery for his actions in attempting to bribe another senator, Donny Olsen, to support a proposal, favored by executives in Alaska's oil industry, concerning oil leases and petroleum production taxes. Olson was the only Democratic legislator known to have been offered an illegal bribe, and the only officeholder who turned it down. In 2009 Cowdery was sentenced to six months in home confinement and fined $25,000.Mauer, Richar''Cowdery gets 6 months home confinement'' Anchorage Daily News The ''Anchorage Daily News'' is a daily newspaper published by the Binkley Co., and based in Anchorage, Alaska. It is the most widely read newspaper and n ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alaska Senate
The Alaska State Senate is the upper house in the Alaska State Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Alaska. It convenes in the Alaska State Capitol in Juneau, Alaska and is responsible for making laws and confirming or rejecting gubernatorial appointments to the state cabinet, commissions and boards. With just twenty members, the Alaska Senate is the smallest state legislative chamber in the United States. Its members serve four-year terms and each represent an equal number of districts with populations of approximately 35,512 people, per 2010 census figures. They are not subject to term limits. Powers and legislative process The Alaska Senate shares the responsibility for making laws in the state of Alaska with the Alaska House of Representatives. Bills are developed by staff from bill requests and information from the bill's sponsor. Bills undergo three or four readings during the legislative process. After the first reading, they are assigned to commit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ben Stevens
Benjamin Aavan Stevens (March 18, 1959 – October 13, 2022) was an American politician and political advisor who served as the Chief of Staff to the Governor of Alaska, Mike Dunleavy. He previously served as the President of the Alaska State Senate as a member of the Republican Party. Stevens was the son of the late United States Senator Ted Stevens, who represented Alaska from 1968 to 2009. Education Stevens earned a Bachelor of Arts in economics from the Arizona State University and a Master of Business Administration from George Washington University. Career After college, he was a commercial fisherman and owner of a consulting firm. Stevens was president of the May 2001 Special Olympics World Winter Games, held in Anchorage. In August 2001, Stevens was appointed by Democratic Governor Tony Knowles to the Alaska State Senate after being nominated by the Republican Party of Alaska. He was the Majority Leader for the 2003–2004 term, and the President for the 2005– ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Conrad Black
Conrad Moffat Black, Baron Black of Crossharbour (born 25 August 1944), is a Canadian-British writer and former politician, Publishing, newspaper publisher, Investor, financier, and Fraudster, convicted fraudster. Black's father was businessman George Montegu Black II, who had significant holdings in Canadian manufacturing, retail and media businesses through part-ownership of the holding company Ravelston Corporation. In 1978, two years after their father's death, Conrad and his older brother Montegu took majority control of Ravelston. Over the next seven years, Conrad Black sold off most of their non-media holdings to focus on newspaper publishing. He controlled Hollinger Inc., Hollinger International, once the world's third-largest English-language newspaper empire, which published ''The Daily Telegraph'' (UK), ''Chicago Sun-Times'' (US), ''The Jerusalem Post'' (Israel), ''National Post'' (Canada), and hundreds of community newspapers in North America, before controversy ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Skilling V
Skilling may refer to: ;Places * Skilling, Dorset, England * Skilling Island, Antarctica ;People * Chauncey Fitch Skilling (1868–1945), American architect * H. Gordon Skilling (1912–2001), Canadian political scientist * Hugh H. Skilling (1905-1990), American electrical engineer and textbook author * Jeffrey Skilling (born 1953), American former CEO of Enron Corporation, brother of Tom Skilling * John Skilling (1921–1998), American civil engineer and architect * Mark Skilling (born 1972), Scottish footballer * Tom Skilling (born 1952), American meteorologist in Chicago, Illinois, brother of Jeffrey Skilling ;Other * Skilling (Scandinavian monetary unit), a historical form of currency * ''Skilling v. United States ''Skilling v. United States'', 561 U.S. 358 (2010), is a Supreme Court of the United States, United States Supreme Court case interpreting the honest services fraud statute, . The case involves former Enron CEO Jeffrey Skilling and the honest ser ...'', a U.S ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
