Today’s Must Read

Just when you think you’ve heard the most outrageous of Alaska earmarking shenanigans, news breaks that Sen. Ted Stevens clarified, via email,
that a $3 million earmark was meant to be handled by his personal friend and big-time campaign contributor, Bob Penney.

The Anchorage Daily News reports that in 2004, state officials were puzzled by a line buried in an appropriations bill: “$2 million is for the Kenai River; $1 million for the Russian River.”

When state officials asked Stevens to clarify, his office replied with a simple email: “The $2 million for the Kenai River; and $1 million for the Russian River go to Bob Penny [sic].” Then it listed the phone number of a company founded by developer Bob Penney. That’s $3 million in taxpayers’ money.

The ADN reports that Penney’s club, the Kenai River Sportsfishing Association, was the supposed intended recipient. Some environmentalists, unsurprisingly, argue the group shouldn’t be handling preservation projects. A few fishermen and a retired biologist, Ken Tarbox, recently formed their own group, the Kenai Area Fisherman’s Coalition, and wrote to the governor on Sept. 14 complaining about the earmark process saying it is unethical and possibly illegal. Tarbox argues the state should direct conservation projects, not Penney’s group.

It shouldn’t come as a surprise that Penney got such special treatment. Penney, you may recall, brought Stevens in on a Utah land deal that turned a $15,000 investment into $125,000 in just twelve months — the same year the $3 million earmark appeared. Penney told The Anchorage Daily News at the time that he and his fellow investors invited Stevens in “appreciation for all he’s done for Alaska and the country. We respect him very, very much.”

Penney is also the colorful character who co-hosts a $1 million fundraiser with Stevens on the Kenai River each year where powerful politicians, heads of major corporations and lobbyists meet up for cigar-smoking, drinking and influence swapping. The Anchorage Daily News heard Stevens describe the event in 2002:

”We invite people we think can afford to put a contribution into the till,” [Stevens] said, ”and people they want to meet.”

Stevens and Penney also own a racehorse together with former Veco CEO Bill Allen, who has pleaded guilty to bribing state officials and just testified that he paid for some of the work involved in the 2001 remodeling of Stevens’ home.

And, finally, Penney is the very same man who gave Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) about half off on a prime piece of property in his back yard. A watchdog group filed an ethics complaint against her; she’s since returned the property to Penney.