Alaskan Senator Ted Stevens Found Guilty (Pictures)

Posted on October 27, 2008

Alaska Senator Ted Stevens has been found guilty of seven corruption charges Monday in a trial that will end his 40 year in disgrace. Not the best timing, the guilty verdict for Senator Stevens comes just a week before Election Day. Read more on Senator Stevens conviction below.

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Alaskan Senator Ted Stevens has been found guilty, just a week before the election against Democratic challenger Mark Begich. So it’s not going to look too good for Stevens in this election!

Ted Stevens, 84, was convicted on all the felony charges that he faced regarding lying about free home renovations and other gifts from a wealthy oil contractor.

Ted Stevens was said to be visibly nervous and upset as the guilty verdicts were read. As Stevens was leaving the courtroom, his wife Catherine gave him a quick kiss on the cheek.

Now Ted Stevens faces up to five years in prison on each count but is not likely to serve very much jail time. The judge originally scheduled sentencing for Jan. 26 but then changed his mind and did not immediately set a date.

The monthlong trial revealed that employees for VECO Corp., an oil services company, transformed Stevens’ modest mountain cabin into a modern, two-story home with wraparound porches, a sauna and a wine cellar.

The Senate’s longest-serving Republican, Stevens said he had no idea he was getting freebies. He said he paid $160,000 for the project and believed that covered everything.

He had asked for an unusually speedy trial, hoping he’d be exonerated in time to return to Alaska and win re-election. He kept his campaign going and gave no indication that he had a contingency plan in case of conviction.

Despite being a convicted felon, he is not required to drop out of the race or resign from the Senate. If he wins re-election, he can continue to hold his seat because there is no rule barring felons from serving in Congress. The Senate could vote to expel him on a two-thirds vote.

“Put this down: That will never happen — ever, OK?” Stevens said in the weeks leading up to his trial. “I am not stepping down. I’m going to run through, and I’m going to win this election.”

Democrats have invested heavily in the race, running television advertisements starring fictional FBI agents and featuring excerpts from wiretaps.

Stevens’ conviction hinged on the testimony of Bill Allen, the senator’s longtime drinking and fishing buddy. Allen, the founder of VECO, testified that he never billed his friend for the work on the house and that Stevens knew he was getting a special deal.

Stevens spent three days on the witness stand, completely denying that statement. He said his wife, Catherine, paid every bill they received.

In Alaska, the Democratic Party issued a statement calling for Stevens to resign immediately. “He knew what he was doing was wrong,” the party said. “But he did it anyway and lied to Alaskans about it.”

Stevens is the sixth senator convicted of criminal charges. The last previous one was Republican David Durenberger of Minnesota, who was indicted in 1993 on charges of conspiring to make fraudulent claims for Senate reimbursement of $3,825 in lodging expenses. He later pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges and was sentenced to one year of probation and a $1,000 fine.

Images: PR/AP

Source: news