Court document ties Young to Alaska corruption

[October 24, 2009]  ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) -- Documents filed in federal court directly link U.S. Rep. Don Young to a wide-ranging investigation of corruption in Alaska for the first time.

The state's only representative in the House is identified as "United States Representative A" in the documents filed in connection with the sentencing next week of Bill Allen, a key figure in the corruption probes of state lawmakers and former U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens.

The filing late Wednesday alleges Young, a 19-term Republican, illegally received gifts totaling up to nearly $200,000 over 13 years from VECO Corp., Allen's now-defunct oil field services company.

Young's attorney did not return a call seeking comment Friday, and spokeswoman Meredith Kenny said the congressman's office could not comment.

According to the document, Allen and former VECO vice president Rick Smith authorized corporate funds to pay up to $15,000 a year for expenses associated with Young's annual pig roast fundraiser between 1993 and 2006.

Allen also alleges in his 2007 "confession of additional criminal activity" that Smith used Allen's credit card to buy a set of golf clubs valued at $1,000 that were given to Young.

Young, 76, has been under investigation by federal authorities for more than two years, but the filing is the first related public document from the government. Young has denied any wrongdoing and repeatedly declined to speak on the matter, citing advice of his lawyers. His campaign has spent more than $1 million on his legal expenses.

After the federal investigation surfaced, Young amended his campaign finance reports to show he reimbursed Allen about $38,000 for fundraiser expenses.

Allen, 72, and Smith, 64, are scheduled to be sentenced for their 2007 guilty pleas to bribery, conspiracy and tax charges. A federal judge on Thursday denied Allen's request to postpone sentencing until February.

Allen was the lead witness in the botched corruption trial of Stevens, who was found guilty last fall of failing to disclose gifts from Allen. He and Smith also testified during the federal corruption trials of former state House Speaker Pete Kott, R-Eagle River, and former Rep. Vic Kohring, R-Wasilla.

Charges against the 85-year-old Stevens were thrown out in April after the Justice Department admitted that prior to trial it failed to turn over evidence favorable to the defense. The same issue resulted in the release of Kott and Kohring from prison while a judge decides whether to drop charges or order new trials.

The Justice Department said Friday that Kott received a proper trial in 2007 and his convictions on bribery, extortion and conspiracy should stand, the Anchorage Daily News reported.

"Kott has not established a constitutional discovery violation warranting a new trial, much less dismissal," prosecutors said in reply to a motion by Kott seeking to have his charges thrown out. "This court should therefore deny his motion."

There is no House ethics committee investigation of Young, but it's unclear whether a preliminary inquiry is under way.

An investigation, which is publicly announced, is conducted by an investigative subcommittee that interviews witnesses, issues subpoenas, and obtains records. A preliminary inquiry, run by the chairman and ranking member, is a review to determine whether an investigation should be started.

In past cases, the House ethics committee conducted full investigations of lawmakers when allegations were raised about the accuracy of their financial disclosure reporting. A current investigation of House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., is looking at his disclosure reports.

The committee on numerous occasions investigated violations of the strict congressional gift limits.

Young has served in the House for most of statehood. He was the Republican candidate in the 1972 general election against incumbent Democrat Nick Begich. Three weeks before the election, Begich's plane disappeared on a flight from Anchorage to Juneau, but he was re-elected anyway.

Begich was declared dead in December 1972, and Young won a close special election in March 1973.

Begich was the father of current U.S. Sen. Mark Begich, a freshman Democrat who barely defeated Stevens after a jury convicted the Republican incumbent.

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Associated Press Writer Larry Margasak in Washington contributed to this report.

[Associated Press; By RACHEL D'ORO]

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