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Reuters Veteran Alaskan senator charged with hiding gifts By James Vicini and Thomas Ferraro 12 minutes ago WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Veteran Republican US Sen. Ted Stevens was charged on Tuesday with concealing more than $250,000 of gifts, including renovation of his house, from an Alaska oil services company, the Justice Department said.
The six-term senator is accused of receiving substantial improvements to property he owns in Alaska, new vehicles in exchange for older ones worth far less, and household goods, the Justice Department said in a statement. The charges follow a wide-ranging investigation coordinated by the Justice Department's Office of Public Integrity which has lasted several years. The senator faces a tough campaign for election in November to a seventh term. The charges could lessen his chances and further improve Democrats hopes of expanding their Senate majority, now at 51-49. The indictment says Stevens, 84, received the gifts from VECO corporation, formerly a multinational oil services company based in Stevens' oil-producing state, and from its top executive Bill Allen. It accuses Stevens, a former chairman of the powerful Appropriations Committee whose is the longest-serving Republican senator ever, of using his position and office in the Senate on behalf of VECO between 2001 and 2006. The 28-page indictment says Stevens provided false information in financial disclosure forms filed with the Senate that required him to report items of value he had received. "Stevens knew the requirements of the financial disclosure forms and knowingly and intentionally sought to conceal and cover up his receipt of things of value by filing financial disclosure forms that contained false statements and omissions concerning Stevens' receipt of these things of value," the indictment said. Last summer, agents from the FBI and Internal Revenue Service searched his home in the ski-resort of Girdwood, south of Anchorage. The senator, who has a reputation for being hard-driving and having a hot-temper, was first appointed to the Senate in 1968 to fill a seat vacated by the death of Democratic Sen. Bob Bartlett and has subsequently been reelected by wide margins. Stevens is nicknamed "Uncle Ted" because of his long record of steering billions of dollars in federal funding to Alaska. In 2000, a civic organization and the state legislature honored him by naming him "Alaskan of the Century." Word of the indictment raced through the state capitol in Juneau, where lawmakers were holding a special session on energy issues. You could feel the earth move when the word spread," said state Sen. Hollis French, an Anchorage Democrat and chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee. "He's a living monument who's suddenly going to have to defend himself in court. It's a long way from a conviction, but just the idea that the Alaskan of the Century has been indicted on federal charges sort of tilts the earth." Jennifer Duffy, who tracks Senate races for the nonpartisan Cook Political Report, said it was unclear whether Stevens might to drop out of the re-election race. "If he stays in, this increase his odds of him being beaten in the (Alaska Senate Republican) primary, set for August 26," Duffy said. Among his challengers was David Cuddy, a developer who made a failed bid to unseat Stevens in 1996. Citizens Against Government Waste, an independent watchdog group, has routinely ranked Alaska as No. The group declared a federal project "pork" if it met any one of a number of criteria, including not being subjected to a congressional hearing and serving a special interest.
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