Where Does Palin Fit in Alaska's Culture of Corruption?

[marmar]

from the American Prospect:



Where Does Palin Fit in Alaska's Culture of Corruption?

Alaska politics at both the state and national levels are rife with bribery, corruption, and scandal. Has Sarah Palin stayed out of the fray?

Laura McGann | September 9, 2008 | web only



ANCHORAGE -- Alaskans are no strangers to political corruption. In the last year and a half, federal prosecutors have indicted seven politicians, three executives and a lobbyist on crimes of public corruption, including the ex-governor's chief of staff, five state senators, two oil services heads, and Alaska's senior U.S. senator, Ted Stevens. Shortly after Sarah Palin started her tenure as governor, the FBI raided the offices of a half-dozen state legislators, including that of then Alaska Senate President Ben Stevens, who has not been charged with a crime.

News cameras captured agents leaving the state Capitol with boxes filled with evidence -- including baseball caps with the logo of one Juneau clique: the "Corrupt Bastards Club." The CBCers were a group of a dozen state lawmakers who joked among themselves and with other public officials about their involvement with oil service firm Veco Corp., whose former chief executive, Bill Allen, and former vice president, Rick Smith, have both pleaded guilty to federal bribery charges. All 12 lawmakers received generous campaign contributions or consulting fees from the company.


Veco was interested in setting up friendly tax policies in the state for oil companies, whose drilling and exploration projects it serviced. The CBC started as a barroom joke after Lori Backes, the executive director of the good government nonprofit, All Alaska Alliance, questioned the financial connections between the 12 lawmakers and Veco in an op-ed published in the state's largest newspaper, The Anchorage Daily News, six months before the FBI showed up with warrants. The nickname was widely known in Juneau by the time Veco paid one of the legislator's girlfriends to embroider the logo on the hats.

Since the raids, three state legislators have been convicted of bribery charges over ties to Veco. Allen and Smith are cooperating with prosecutors.

Meanwhile, in Washington, each member of the state's federal delegation (all Republicans) -- Sen. Ted Stevens, Sen. Lisa Murkowski and Rep. Don Young -- is embroiled in scandal. For all three, the narrative is the same: Each stands accused of taking cash or gifts from a well-connected donor with deep interests in the federal earmark system. .......(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.prospect.org/cs/articles?article=where_does_palin_fit_in_alaskas_culture_of_corruption