The Feds raid Ted
It couldn't happen to a nicer guy .. he is without a doubt the nastiest tempered man in the senate.
The Feds raided Alaskan GOP senator Ted Stevens' home with a search warrant .. note that the raid was carried out by FBI *and IRS agents* .. which means that Ted may soon have tax fraud problems.
The Republicans just aren't having a very good week. Here another one is probably involved in a crime.
We all remember ol' Ted Stevens, of course .. mostly from the Bridge to Nowhere .. or the Daily Show's favorite clip of him yelling "NO!", that nobody was going to take that bridge from Alaska. Also, he indignantly refused to put oil company executives under oath when they were called to testify before his committee.
My personal favorite is his explanation on C-SPAN of how the Internet works .. through a series of tubes, not trucks.
Stay tuned and ramp up Queens' "Another One Bites the Dust"....
From the Washington Post, Tuesday, July 31, 2007:
"Agents from the FBI and the Internal Revenue Service raided the Alaska home of Sen. Ted Stevens (R) yesterday as part of a broad federal investigation of political corruption in the state that has also swept up his son and one of his closest financial backers, officials said.
"Agents from the FBI and the Internal Revenue Service raided the Alaska home of Sen. Ted Stevens (R) yesterday as part of a broad federal investigation of political corruption in the state that has also swept up his son and one of his closest financial backers, officials said.
Stevens, the longest-serving Republican senator in history, is under scrutiny from the Justice Department for his ties to an Alaska energy services company, Veco, whose chief executive pleaded guilty in early May to a bribery scheme involving state lawmakers.
Contractors have told a federal grand jury that in 2000, Veco executives oversaw a lavish remodeling of Stevens's house in Girdwood, an exclusive ski resort area 40 miles from Anchorage, according to statements by the contractors.[..]"
Hmm .. that'd be the same home that was doubled in size by renovations in 2002, and I'm shocked, shocked, to learn that the contractor was Veco, the corrupt oil company whose former CEO has been convicted of bribing Alaska politicians. AND, as prosecutors have pointed out, was not in the business of residential construction or remodeling.
But hey, I'm sure that lots of oil companies suddenly decide to help someone remodel their home .. especially if that someone happens to be, say, the senior senator from an oil state or something.
The biggest stink will be about payment for the job. When asked about the investigation a couple of weeks ago, Ted said he paid every bill he received with his own money.
That's crooked politician talk for he paid a couple of the little bills .. but Veco did not bill him for ALL the services rendered.
Meanwhile, looks like the GOP still hasn't cleaned out its corruption closets yet.
Yeah, yeah .. I know, Democrats can be corrupt too .. just not as many lately. But just wait until they get into the White House and have better chances.
Sadly, with all these shady deals sometimes our government resembles the mafia.
...with all due respect to the mafia.
