Oil execs sentenced for Alaska bribes

A federal judge in Anchorage sentenced two former oil-services executives Wednesday for their role in bribing Alaska state lawmakers.

Bill Allen, the former chief executive of VECO Corp., received a three-year sentence and a $750,000 fine, the maximum under the sentencing guidelines. Allen’s trusted lieutenant, Richard Smith, the former vice president of community and government affairs for VECO, received 21 months in prison and a $10,000 fine.

Both defendants pleaded guilty May 7, 2007, to bribery, honest services fraud and conspiracy to defraud the IRS. They admitted to providing $395,000 in gifts and benefits to state public officials.

In Allen’s case, Judge John Sedwick said he would have assessed a higher fine if possible.

“Democracy doesn’t work when it is corrupt,” Sedwick said. “From time to time, that democracy is threatened, as it was here, so this is a very serious offense.”

Allen, 72, served as a key federal witness in the government’s wide-ranging corruption probe in Alaska that ensnared former Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska).

The charges against Stevens were dismissed earlier this year when the Justice Department admitted that it failed to turn over favorable evidence to Stevens’ defense team.

Stevens was charged with lying on required Senate financial disclosure forms about home renovations and gifts he received from Allen and others.

In a pre-sentence filing last week Allen also said he provided more than $100,000 worth of gifts to Rep. Don Young (R-Alaska), which the sitting lawmaker has never reported. Young has not been charged with any wrongdoing and his office and lawyer did not return calls seeking comment.