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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.