Alaska Senator Supports User Fees For All EXCEPT Alaska Pilots

On Sat, 04 Aug 2007 12:09:05 -0400, Bob Noel
wrote in
:

It would be pretty lonely in Congress if all the crooks left.

We can hope.




http://bob.wjla.com/headlines/0807/444164.html
Corruption Probe Dogs Alaska

Wednesday August 01, 2007 6:04pm from our sister station WJLA-TV

JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) - One former state representative is guilty of
bribery. Three more await trial on similar charges. The state's lone
congressman is under federal investigation for corruption. A U.S.
senator just had his home searched by the FBI. This is not exactly the
Alaska that Vic Fischer had in mind when he helped draft the state's
constitution more than 50 years ago.

"Greed is rampant," said Fischer. "The character of the politicians
has changed a lot. I'm very disgusted."

The wave of government corruption allegations has brought national
attention to a state that touts its beauty and rugged landscapes, wild
salmon and spectacular Northern Lights.

Fischer, current lawmakers and political analysts say the cases are
evidence that the state is reaping what it sowed from years of lax
oversight and a cozy relationship with the oil industry.

The relationship between lawmakers and the oil industry is a central
issue in an investigation that stretches from Juneau to Washington,
D.C. First, the former state lawmakers were accused of accepting
bribes or extorting favors in exchange for oil tax votes favorable to
the industry.

Soon, the Justice Department began looking into the relationship
between the contractor VECO Corp. and Alaska's congressional
delegation. Earlier this week, federal agents raided the home of U.S.
Sen. Ted Stevens, who is under scrutiny for his close relationship
with a contractor who oversaw his home renovation project and won
millions in federal contracts.

The common denominator in all but one case is former oil field
services executive Bill Allen, who recently pleaded guilty to bribing
lawmakers who were considering an oil tax bill. He remains at the
center of emerging corruption probes.

Allen's company, Anchorage-based VECO Corp., has long been a
heavy-hitting player in North Slope oil and gas operations. But Allen
and former company vice president Rick Smith, who also pleaded guilty
with Allen, became political activists as well.

Allen was once a fixture in the state's Capitol. His presence was so
strong he was credited as the driver behind a legal change in the
definition of a lobbyist - essentially so that he no longer had to
register as one.

But Allen still pushed his agenda with meetings in the Baranof Hotel,
among the city's poshest, and in the Capitol, lawmakers and court
records say. He was even spotted improperly passing notes to lawmakers
over a railing during a House floor session last year.

Eventually, the lines between the industry and politics became
blurred, said former House Minority leader Ethan Berkowitz. The
state's checks and balances system eroded and the system broke, he
said.

"We've been a one-party state and a one-industry state for too long,"
he said. "The economic and political power has consolidated into just
a few hands and that breeds contempt. That kind of concentration of
power gives rise to fascist tendencies."

If things progress, the state's reputation for political corruption
could become akin to that of New Jersey or Louisiana, some political
analysts said.

"I don't think anybody is going to cancel a summer cruise because of
Ted Stevens," said John Pitney, political science professor at
Claremont McKenna College in Southern California. "But it does hurt
the brand.

"It's difficult to quantify but that tarnish probably carries a price.
It makes it more difficult to press the state's rights or needs when
arguing with the federal officials and general public."

In their own quirky way, the developments coincide with the recent
release of "The Simpsons Movie," which prominently features the
cartoon family's journey to Alaska, prompting Homer Simpson to say
it's a place where "you can't be too fat or too drunk."

The movie depicts Alaska almost as a separate country. As Homer
crosses the state lines, he's greeted by a customs agent who says,
"Welcome to Alaska," then hands Homer $1,000 cash, saying every
Alaskan gets a stack of bills so oil companies can exploit the
environment.

The effect the scandal could have is not lost on Republican Gov. Sarah
Palin, who last year ran her campaign on ethics reform and recently
signed a 43-page ethics reform bill into law, a document originally
introduced as an eight-page offering in January.

In 2004, as chairwoman of the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation
Commission, she exposed Alaska Republican Party Chairman Randy
Ruedrich for ethical violations when he was a fellow commissioner.

Now, Palin is trying to convince federal officials that Alaska can
foster the right development for a multibillion dollar pipeline she
hopes will ship trillions of cubic feet of natural gas from the North
Slope to market.

"We should be a leader in energy policy," she said "The only way we
can lead is if the rest of the nation is confident our leaders are
willing to serve for the right reasons."

"It's a wake up call for Alaska to demand better from its elected and
appointed officials," she said. "It's a wake up call that we cannot
continue to go down the path that we're on."