Edited on Thu Nov-22-07 12:39 AM by L. Coyote
Oil Corruption Unraveling in Alaska
Q&A with Alaska Public Radio Reporter David Shurtleff
http://www.pbs.org/now/shows/347/oil-corruption.htmlNOW talked to David Shurtleff, a reporter with the Alaska Public Radio Network, to learn more about the wheeling and dealing going on between VECO—an oil services company—and Alaska state lawmakers. While the investigation has thus far been limited to the Alaska State Legislature, he said some expect the investigation to reach the highest levels of government. His coverage of the Alaska corruption trials has also been featured on National Public Radio.
NOW: Were you surprised by the content of the FBI tapes of Bill Allen making deals with Alaska state lawmakers in a hotel in Juneau?
David Shurtleff: You'd be hard-pressed to find anyone who wasn't at least partially stunned by what was on the FBI surveillance tapes and videos. While this investigation has exposed corruption within Alaska politics, it has also given us an insider's look at the world of backroom wheeling and dealing that has become part of the American political process. It's certainly not pretty.
Imagine witnessing some of the most powerful people in your state accept bribes. Even more appalling was how these people acted when they thought no one else was watching: extreme drunkenness, sexism, back-stabbing, over-the-top use of profanity. You really get the sense that these politicians felt invincible.
NOW: A recent Washington Post article on the Allen scandal mentioned that an Anchorage coffeehouse now sells "Corrupt Bastards Coffee"
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