Alaska's Young Linked To Corruption Probe

The Anchorage Daily News' Cockerham & Bolstad report that new court documents filed this week indicate that Rep. Don Young (R-AK) "directly tie him to the Alaska corruption investigation through gifts and illegal campaign contributions by Bill Allen and his oil-field service company Veco Corp." Here's more:

The documents were filed late Wednesday as part of the preparations for the sentencing next week of former Veco chief Bill Allen, who is at the heart of the investigation into corruption in Alaska politics.

It included a 2007 "confession of additional criminal activity," made public for the first time in filings Wednesday, in which Allen alleged 13 years worth of gift-giving by him and fellow Veco executive Rick Smith to "United States Representative A," described as Alaska's representative in the House. Only Don Young fits that description.

Allen's confession said Veco spent between $130,000 and $195,000 on illegal corporate donations to Young by paying for his annual "pig roast" fundraiser in Anchorage from 1993 to 2006. ...

Young reported no gifts on his disclosure forms from 1995 until last year, when he disclosed $77,000 in donations that he received for his legal defense fund.

It was lack of disclosure on those same forms that led the Justice Department to indict then-Alaska Republican Sen. Ted Stevens on corruption charges also related to Veco. A jury convicted Stevens, but those charges were withdrawn earlier this year by the Justice Department after defense attorneys questioned the way prosecutors and the FBI handled witnesses and evidence.

Roll Call's Paul Singer, writing about the latest development, adds, "Young has not been charged with any wrongdoing."

In 2008 Young barely survived a Republican primary challenge from then-Lt. Gov. (and now Gov.) Sean Parnell, who was endorsed by then-Gov. Sarah Palin. He then went on to win re-election over Ethan Berkowitz (D), 50-45 percent.