Did Big Oil bring Ted Stevens down? Big payoffs and Big Oil under scrutiny in Alaska.

On Tuesday, Alaska Senator Ted Stevens was indicted for failing to disclose gifts he received from VECO Corporation, an Alaska-based oil services company. But his indictment is only the latest news - and perhaps the tip of the iceberg - in an ongoing political scandal that's rocking the state. NOW goes behind the breaking headlines to shine a bright light on the scandalous connection between VECO and Alaska's old-boy political network. Three state legislators have already been convicted in federal court for accepting bribes from VECO, and the FBI has video and audio evidence that reveal VECO executives shockingly handing out cash to those legislators in exchange for promises to roll back a tax on the oil industry. And more lawmakers - including Senator Stevens' own son, former Alaska State Senate President Ben Stevens - are being eyed in the growing scandal.

NOW investigates the bribes, the connections to Big Oil and the payoffs to obtain friendly tax policies.

The NOW Website at www.pbs.org/now offers an updated timeline of the scandal, plus a Web-exclusive report detailing how the oil and gas industry navigated Washington power structures during the past eight years. Using campaign contribution and lobbying data, the article connects the dots between the industry's biggest spenders and the favorable policy outcomes they received. The report also exposes the connections between Big Oil and 2008 presidential candidates.