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Alaskan Bribing CEO Enjoys Window of Freedom
Tags: Alaska, Alaska! Scandal, Bill Allen, Rick Smith, Ted Stevens, VECO
Alaskan politicians are facing a lot of heat these days. The state's senior senator, Ted Stevens (R), has of course been indicted for not disclosing booty he received from an Alaskan oil company, VECO. Five other state politicians have also been indicted for allegedly taking bribes from VECO. So what happened to the VECO folks who offered the bribes?
VECO's two top former officers, CEO Bill Allen and vice president Rick Smith, pleaded guilty last year. But according to today's Anchorage Daily News, Allen has yet to serve jail time. Rather, he's been cooperating with prosecutors who in turn have helped push back his start date for jail to February 2009. In addition to having their sentences reduced, defendants who cooperate with prosecutors often have their start date delayed.
In the meantime, Allen arranged the sale of VECO for nearly $365 million. According to the Daily News, each of Allen's three grown children, who co-owned VECO, earned about $30 million from the sale. Allen himself reportedly earned about $7 million.
All of which has allowed Allen to enjoy some nice living before he has to head off to more cramped quarters. The Daily News reports:
Though Allen still owns his home near downtown Anchorage, a property valued at $571,400, he now spends some of his time in Roswell, N.M., according to his attorney, Bob Bundy, and to people who know him there.
Dick Cappellucci, a New Mexico licensed horse trainer from El Paso, Tex., who used to work for Allen's son, Mark Allen, and once owned a race horse with Mark, said Bill Allen is living on his son's Double Eagle Ranch. The county lists the ranch as a 46-acre property.
Mark Allen himself "is building a fancy, fancy place over there," Cappellucci said.
Allen eventually faces a sentence of 9 to 11 years.
"He's just kind of marking time -- he's just kind of waiting for the ax to fall, that's all," his lawyer told the Daily News. "He went from a guy who was leading a pretty good life, being a CEO with people respecting him, to somebody that's just waiting now. It's not a very happy situation."
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