From D.C., Alaska Senator Keeps An Eye (and A Hand) Out For His Son

Start your day with TPM.
Sign up for the Morning Memo newsletter

Ah, how the bennies of the father are visited upon the son!

A 2003 article counted at least nine separate cases in which Sen. Ted Stevens (R-AK) has done favors for companies or organizations which paid his son Ben over $1.5 million in salary and “consulting fees.” And there have been more since then. (The article, from the Los Angeles Times, was unearthed by the Washington, D.C.-based Sunlight Foundation.)

Ben Stevens, president of the Alaska State Senate, recently had his offices raided by the FBI. News out of Alaska indicates the feds are looking for information surrounding a major resource legislation package that benefited at least one of the companies father Ted helped out, VECO Corp.

Since the Times piece was published, the elder Stevens has done more favors which benefited Ben.

In late 2003, the U.S. senator finagled a $29 million earmark for “The Alaska Fisheries Marketing Board.” Guess who got to chair the group — which for two years did not disclose its activities? That’s right: Ben Stevens. (A spokesman for the father said he merely “recommended” his son for the post.)

And last December, it was revealed that Stevens senior inserted a provision into a bill worth $10 million to a fishing venture for which his son Ben secretly held an investment option. The provision was estimated to be worth $1.5 million to Ben. (In the end, Ben didn’t collect that profit, however; the venture soured for unrelated reasons.)

There’s no evidence Ted Stevens is of interest to the investigation announced yesterday — although he does have an office in the same town where one of the FBI warrants was executed. Keep in mind, however, investigators are required to follow up on any evidence of wrongdoing they come across. And judging by the news pictures, the FBI has been wheeling a lot of documents out of those offices. If they’ve already got reason to believe that evidence as outrageous as “Corrupt Bastards Club” hats exist, who knows what kind of stuff they might stumble across.

Latest Muckraker
Comments
Masthead Masthead
Founder & Editor-in-Chief:
Executive Editor:
Managing Editor:
Associate Editor:
Editor at Large:
General Counsel:
Publisher:
Head of Product:
Director of Technology:
Associate Publisher:
Front End Developer:
Senior Designer: