Cool, if he goes down for it. Here's another crook. Rep Senator (AK) Ted Stephen's road to wealth:
Excellent documentation by The Nation ... the intricacies of his lifelong corruption are incredible, IMO.
December 17, 2003
THE NATION
Senator's Way to Wealth Was Paved With Favors
By Chuck Neubauer and Richard T. Cooper, Times Staff Writers
ANCHORAGE — He wielded extraordinary power in Washington for more
than three decades, eventually holding sway over nearly $800 billion a year in
federal spending.
But outside the halls of the U.S. Senate, which is a world of personal wealth
so rarified some call it "the Millionaires' Club," Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska)
had struggled financially.
Then, in 1997, he got
serious about making
money. And in almost no
time, he too was a
millionaire — thanks to
investments with
businessmen who
received government
contracts or other
benefits with his help.
Added together, Stevens'
new partnerships and
investments provide a
step-by-step guide to
building a personal
fortune — if you happen to be one of the country's most influential senators.
They also illustrate how lax ethics rules allow members of Congress and their
families to profit from personal business dealings with special interests.
Among the ways that Stevens became wealthy:
• Armed with the power his committee posts give him over the Pentagon,
Stevens helped save a $450-million military housing contract for an
Anchorage businessman. The same businessman made Stevens a partner in a
series of real estate investments that turned the senator's $50,000 stake into at
least $750,000 in six years.
• An Alaska Native company that Stevens helped create got millions of
dollars in defense contracts through preferences he wrote into law. Now the
company pays $6 million a year to lease an office building owned by the
senator and his business partners. Stevens continues to push legislation that
benefits the company.
• An Alaskan communications company benefited from the senator's activities
on the Commerce Committee. His wife, Catherine, earned tens of thousands
of dollars from an inside deal involving the company's stock.
Stevens, in a written response to questions submitted by The Times, said that
in all these cases his official actions were motivated by a desire to help Alaska,
and that he played no role in the day-to-day management of the ventures into
which he put money.
"I am a passive investor," Stevens said of his real estate dealings. "I am not
now nor have I been involved in buying or selling properties, negotiating leases
or making other management decisions."
All in the Family
In these deals and others, Stevens' brother-in-law, William H. Bittner, played
a pivotal role. An Anchorage lawyer and lobbyist, Bittner represents major
business interests for whom the senator has repeatedly gone to bat. In one
instance, Stevens engineered a $9.6-million federal appropriation that chiefly
benefited a Bittner client, part of South Korea's Hyundai conglomerate.
Stevens tucked a single line into a must-pass appropriations bill that used
federal tax dollars to buy the company out of a coal-loading facility in Seward.
Stevens said he did it to lower the company's costs and keep it from canceling
an agreement to buy Alaskan coal. Bittner did not respond to questions from
The Times.
Continues..............
latimes.com |
