WASHINGTON — Senator Ted Stevens of Alaska, the longest-serving Republican senator in United States history and a figure of great influence in Washington as well as in his home state, has been indicted on federal charges of failing to report gifts and income.

Mr. Stevens, 84, was indicted on seven felony counts related to renovations on his home in Alaska. The charges arise from an investigation that has been under way for more than a year, in connection with the senator’s relationship with a businessman who oversaw the home-remodeling project.

The indictment will surely reverberate through the November elections. Mr. Stevens, who has been in the Senate for 40 years, is up for re-election this year. Mark Begich, a popular Democratic mayor of Anchorage, hopes to supplant him.

The Justice Department announced the charges at a news conference Tuesday afternoon. The document says that, from the spring of 1999 through the late summer of 2007, Mr. Stevens failed to report “things of value” that he received in connection with his home in the ski resort city of Girdwood, about 40 miles south of Anchorage.

Prosecutors say Mr. Stevens, who referred to his home as “the chalet,” accepted goods and services worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, ranging from an outdoor grill to extensive home remodeling and architectural advice. Not only did Mr. Stevens fail to report the items on his Senate financial disclosure form, as required, but he took active steps to conceal the receipt of the goods and services, the indictment says.

All the charges are felonies. Justice Department officials declined to discuss how long a prison term a conviction on the charges might bring, noting that the maximum sentences allowed by law are rarely imposed. Mr. Stevens was in Washington on Tuesday, and was allowed to turn himself in for paperwork processing.


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I suppose that Bridge to Nowhere now leads straight to the Federal Pen.

I hope he dies in jail, him and his bullshit about wanting cable tv (including premium channels) and satelitte radio to follow the same FCC guidelines as AM/FM radio and broadcast tv in regards to content, basically trying to censor what grown adults who spend their money on can see or hear.

Howard Stern should be interesting to hear tomorrow.

I dropped one of my best friends off at the Ted Stevens International Airport tonight so he could fly back to Seattle. Ted Stevens, not that long ago, was also named "Alaskan of the Century." This man did more for the state of Alaska than any other individual alive. And you want him to spend the rest of his life in jail? One of the charges against him is that someone gave him a stainless steel bbq grill. Are you fucking kidding me? If he's no longer a senator for the state of Alaska, all it can do is hurt the people of this state.

Also, everyone in Girdwood, Alaska refers to their place as a "chalet."

"I'm a mean, miserable SOB," Stevens once boasted... "I'm just sorry they repealed the law on dueling. I'd have shot a couple of the sons of bitches."

This guy is so fucking old he used to chum around with Richard Nixon and his pals. He's been pulling this shit for years, give him time. Guilty, Guilty, Guilty.

The guy has a squeaky clean record and is known as a stickler for following rules. He paid every invoice for work done on his house, but the contractor did extra work that he didn't charge him for. For this he should be thrown out of the Senate and go to jail? Give me a fucking break.

Good times:

4/10/06.

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/connelly/266095_joel10.html

"The 82-year-old Stevens will, however, continue as one of big oil's great friends on Capitol Hill. He was famously deferential when industry brass testified before the Senate Commerce Committee in November.

Stevens, as chairman, announced he would not require the executives to give their testimony under oath. Cantwell asked for a vote. "There will be no vote. ... It's a decision of the chairman and I have made that decision," Stevens shot back.

"I move that we swear in witnesses," Cantwell persisted.

"I second the motion," said Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif.

"That's the last we're going to hear about that, because it's out of order," Stevens snapped. He told Cantwell and Boxer, when they pressed the issue, "I intend to be respectful of the position that these gentlemen hold."

Stevens saved the oil executives from perjury allegations.

Testifying, the company brass denied any participation in Vice President Dick Cheney's secretive 2001 energy task force.

Days later, The Washington Post obtained a document showing that brass from Exxon Mobil, Shell Oil Co., British Petroleum and Conoco had met in the White House complex with aides to Cheney who were developing a national energy plan."

That was a GREAT national energy plan, I tell you what! A fucking triumph of forward-thinking on the part of the Republican Party!

We are reaping the benefits of having "oil men" in charge of the White House, and Republicans in charge of both houses of Congress for 2001-2006! And then Scalia/Thomas/Roberts?!!? GET THE FUCK OUT OF HERE!!! A GREAT TIME FOR AMERICA!!!!

Historians will look back at this period of history, and applaud, nay, GLORIFY the tough choices the Republicans made to make America strong and self-sufficient in the face of corporate interests!

And Ted Stevens got $250,000+ of improvements as a TIP for his great fucking enlightened leadership!!!

That's what the younger generations calls BONUS!!!