July 30, 2008
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Bill Allen and his Former Friends
My topic today is the same as yesterday: political corruption in Alaska. Apocatastasis facetiously commented, “I don’t suppose he has any hats left over?“ That was in reference to the CBC [Corrupt Bastards Club (or "Corrupt Bastards Caucus")] gear created by the girlfriend of convicted Alaska legislator Pete Kott, which was listed on the search warrants the FBI served on Ted Stevens and other legislators who had been mentioned by VECO head Bill Allen as recipients of his “gifts” and bribes. Any of the original gimme caps not seized by the FBI would now be pretty valuable, I suppose.
Allen, convicted last year on bribery, has had his sentencing delayed while he testifies against the list of Alaskan politicians, including Senator Stevens and former U.S. Senator and ex-Governor Frank “the bank” Murkowski. Allen’s transparently self-interested decision to confess and help prosecute his bribees has produced a long series of denials followed by trials and convictions, and some pathetically humorous audio and video that was entered into evidence.
Ted Stevens has said he paid every bill submitted to him for the renovation of his home, which was allegedly done with VECO materials by VECO employees. Presumably, he will produce receipts.
There was also an auto swap, of an old Ford for a new Land Rover, that netted old Ted thousands of bucks in financial gains, and what he apparently thought was plausible deniability. It remains to be seen how it all washes out in court. In all the years I have been watching and listening to him in the media, I heard a lot of bluster and bluff, and not one graceful admission of error or wrongdoing. It’s just not his style to admit fallibility.Stevens is running for the Senate again this year. There are people who say they will be voting for him despite the indictment. I never did vote for him, and I’m used to being in the minority in this place where I fit so well into the natural environment but not in the political culture. Not everyone is so inclined to reserve judgment or forgive, and it is being said that Ted now faces the toughest political campaign of his career.
Since last October, five of Allen’s co-conspirators have been convicted and three of them are now serving federal sentences from five months to six years. Ted’s son, Ben Stevens, who represents an Anchorage constituency, has not been indicted, and I’m not the only person in the Matanuska and Susitna Valleys who hopes he will be. He was recorded referring to us all as “Valley trash,” a statement that spawned a lot of t-shirts saying, “proud to be Valley Trash.”
I have been listening to public radio, and have heard several people express embarrassment over the corruption scandal. I suppose that is a natural reaction, especially for those who elected the Corrupt Bastards. I didn’t vote for any of them, so I’m seeing the humor and irony in these guys being brought down by the crooked businessman in whose pockets they once luxuriated.
Comments (10)
There is a lot of humor and irony in that situation, isn’t there? You gotta love the guy who is not only a crooked bastard but seizes the first chance he can to turn on his co-conspirators to try to save his own ass. There is always, always a guy like that and how strange it must be to live in his skin without wanting to crawl out of it.
Because I had seen your entry about this yesterday I paid a little more attention this morning when it came on the news.
It seemed that everyone who spoke about the story assumed it was common knowledge that this man was corrupt, but also that he has always been corrupt and continued to be elected. I’m amazed at how willing people are to overlook the base dishonesty of it all, as long as they were getting something out of it.
One more thing about this situation: it sort of reminds me of this situation I remember from high school. There was this really obnoxious cocky jock guy who was on the hockey team, total party boy, and one day for whatever reason he turned in a bunch of his teammates for drinking. A bunch of people got kicked off the team (there was a strict “no tolerance” rule in regards to drinking, smoking and drugs) and some lost their athletic scholarships or potential to get them because of it. I don’t know if this particular guy was getting busted for something so he chose to do that or if he just chose to do it because he was a jerk. Busting everyone else for something that he did all the time. I remember hearing that several years after graduating from high school he showed up at some party with a prominent, neo-con state-level politician’s filthy-drunk underage daughter. Nice! People are so puzzling sometimes!
So, a different situation but some of the same behaviors.
@quitchick - Maybe it will puzzle you less if you think of it in the context of fear. Greed is a manifestation of fear of scarcity. Implicating others (“snitching”) for one’s own crimes and misdeeds manifests a fear of being an outcast, alone. The drive for power comes from a fear of powerlessness.
Love drives those things we think of as “good”, wholesome, healthy, just, etc. Fear drives the rest.
Corruption seems to happen more and more these days. Much of it is that so much of it is publicized now and I’m paying more attention. Also, it seems people have less respect and empathy for others, less foresight about the consequences of their actions, and there is less accountability. It looks like we’ll need a few more witch hunts in the government before we smoke most of the monsters out.
All I can say is that I love when crooked bastards get their just rewards. Here’s hoping he gets more than a slap on the wrist!
I love to see things like this. Not that they’re corrupt to begin with, of course, but that they get what they’ve got coming to them… eventually.
Human. All too human.
We need term limits. The office corrupts them all.
“You wound, like Parthians, while you fly, And kill with a retreating eye.”