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Witnesses: We worked extensively on Stevens's home |
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By Manu Raju
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Posted: 09/26/08 01:22 PM [ET] |
Government prosecutors spent Friday laying out a detailed case about Sen. Ted Stevens's (R-Alaska) extensive home renovations, which are at the center of his criminal trial.
Several former employees of the now-defunct oil-services firm Veco Corp. testified that they worked overtime to complete a series of renovations in 1999 and 2000 that transformed the Republican's chalet in the ski town of Girdwood, Alaska. Prosecutors are alleging that Stevens did not report on Senate forms more than $250,000 worth of gifts and home renovations arranged by the former head of Veco, Bill Allen, and other longtime friends.
Allen, the government's star witness, seems likely to testify early next week. How the jurors perceive his testimony will be crucial to the outcome of the case. The government plans to cite his testimony to argue that Stevens was well-aware of the home renovations even though he did not report them publicly. The defense will try to discredit Allen's testimony by arguing he was overzealous by making additions that the senator did not request, did not give Stevens all the bills he sought and has an impaired memory, the result of a 2001 motorcycle accident.
On Friday, prosecutors carefully tried to showcase the renovations through photographs showing the exterior and interior of the home before and after the remodeling, as well as through testimony from witnesses who worked on those renovations. The government says Stevens did not pay Veco $188,000 for the renovations, which included new porches, roofings, lighting and an addition of an entire floor.
Douglas Alke of Wasilla, Alaska, testified Monday that he installed a massive backup electrical generator that Stevens wanted installed before 2000 because of fears of a Y2K shutdown. He said it took him about 20-24 hours to install the generator.
Roy Dettmer, an electrician, said he worked 10 hours a day for six days a week to put electrical wiring and new lighting in the house.
In cross-examination Friday, Stevens's attorney Robert Cary tried to show that Stevens's wife, Catherine, was taking the lead role in arranging the renovations and that the senator was rarely in his Girdwood home to keep track of the extensive work that was occurring.
In his questioning of Mike Luther, a carpenter who worked on the house, Cary asked: "Mrs. Stevens — was it your perception she dealt mostly with the contractors?"
"Yes," Luther stated, adding that the senator's wife even brought the workers muffins.
The case will turn on whether Stevens knowingly and willfully kept the gifts off of his annual Senate financial disclosure records. If convicted of all of the seven felony counts, he could face up to 35 years in prison. Stevens, 84, and up for reelection in November, has pleaded not guilty to all seven charges. |
