A grand jury indicted an Alaska legislator on bribery and conspiracy counts in a federal investigation of corruption that already has led to convictions against three former state lawmakers.
The two-count indictment against state Sen. John Cowdery was announced Thursday after being issued late the day before. Federal prosecutors allege that Cowdery conspired with executives of oil field services company VECO Corp. to bribe another unnamed state senator for votes to support oil and gas legislation.
Cowdery, a 78-year-old Anchorage Republican, was in Juneau on Thursday. His lawyer, Kevin Fitzgerald, said his client had not been arrested and maintains his innocence.
The claim is that the government misinterpreted the few comments he made, he said.
Two former VECO executives, Bill Allen and Rick Smith, have been convicted of bribing Alaska lawmakers and are assisting the government in the continuing investigation.
Two former lawmakers, Pete Kott and Vic Kohring, are serving federal prison sentences following their convictions on corruption charges. Another former lawmaker, Tom Anderson, was convicted of bribery in another case, and former lawmaker Bruce Weyhrauch awaits trial. All four are Republicans.
GOP Gov. Sarah Palin said it was disturbing to learn that another public official had been charged with violating the public's trust.
I urge Sen. Cowdery to step down, for the good of the state, Palin said in a prepared statement.
VECO had stood to gain lucrative contracts if the Legislature in 2006 passed a new oil tax. The government alleges Allen and Smith worked with Cowdery to offer the unnamed senator $25,000 — characterized as campaign contributions — to vote in favor of the legislation.
The 16-page indictment against Cowdery is filled with snippets of incriminating conversations over a period of months in the spring and summer of 2006.
One exchange recounted in the court document has Allen, Cowdery and the unnamed senator at an Anchorage restaurant discussing the latter's need for money for an upcoming election campaign.
I think we can make this work if you vote the way me and (another unnamed senator) were to vote, Cowdery is quoted.
References in the indictment to portions of the conversations being unintelligible suggest they had been recorded, but the indictment does not explicitly say that they were. Department of Justice spokeswoman Laura Sweeney said she could not comment beyond what is in the indictment.
The FBI nearly two years ago raided the offices of six Alaska lawmakers, including Cowdery and the others who have been charged. At the time, Cowdery said he didn't know why he was included in the raid or why agents seized items unrelated to anything, including the stubs of his legislative salary checks. I certainly haven't done anything wrong, he said.
Smith has testified in earlier trials that he bribed Cowdery but did not give details. Allen has testified that Cowdery was a part of his inner circle.
If convicted of both counts, Cowdery faces a maximum of 15 years in prison and a $500,000 fine. His first court appearance was scheduled for Aug. 11.
The retired contractor has been in ill health and missed much of the last year's legislative sessions. Cowdery, who is in his third Senate term and previously served three terms in the House, is not seeking re-election this year.
State Sen. Donny Olson, a Nome Democrat whose office was raided by the FBI but who has not been charged, testified before a grand jury last month.
Certainly I'm not afraid of what's going on, Olson said Thursday. I've been cooperative with the FBI and I've been cooperative with the U.S. attorney's office, as well.
U.S. Rep. Don Young and U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens, both Alaska Republicans, are under scrutiny for their relationships with VECO executives. Neither has been charged, and both deny wrongdoing.
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Associated Press writer Steve Quinn in Juneau contributed to this report.
(This version corrects that Olson is not only legislator whose office was raided but who has not been charged.)
