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December 22, 2006

Subpoenas May Signal Wider Probe Into Son of Sen. Stevens

By John Stanton

Roll Call

In a move that could signal a widening of the investigation into the son of Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), federal investigators probing Alaska Senate President Ben Stevens (R) have issued a host of subpoenas to fishing industry executives and trade associations in Seattle, Alaska and Washington, D.C., sources familiar with the investigation said.

Federal investigators with the FBI and the Department of Justice have been looking into Ben Stevens for at least a year as part of a broader ethics probe of a group of state lawmakers dubbed by the local media “The Corrupt Bastards Club.” The scandal has swept up some of the state’s most powerful families and companies, including the Stevenses, energy industry giant VECO Corp. and other entities in the oil and gas sector.

There is no evidence that federal investigators are targeting Ted Stevens or any other Member of Congress in the investigation.

But federal investigators have begun to focus on the financial connections between Ben Stevens and Trevor McCabe, a former aide to the elder Stevens, said a source familiar with the investigation. Although details of federal subpoenas are supposed to be kept secret, The Seattle Times, the Anchorage Daily News and other local media reported earlier this month that a number of recent subpoenas seemed to center on the relationship between the younger Stevens, McCabe and a number of key players in the fishing industry, including Trident Seafoods, Icicle Seafoods and the At Sea Processors Association, a trade group.

Sources close to the investigation who asked not to be identified said that based on the information being sought, DOJ and the FBI appear now to be focusing on the relationship between Ben Stevens, McCabe and the Alaska Fisheries Marketing Board, which provides millions of federal dollars to the state’s fishing industry.

Ted Stevens created the board in 2003 to help the industry, which at the time was ailing financially. Since then, Stevens has earmarked millions of dollars to the group for grants each year. Companies, community groups and the state have used those grants for a host of activities, ranging from advertising campaigns in Japan to a decision to paint an Alaska Airlines jet to resemble a fish. The latter project received criticism both within the state and from Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) as wasteful spending.

The office of Ted Stevens did not comment for this story.

Ben Stevens formally served as chairman of AFMB’s board, while McCabe is a member of the board. McCabe and Stevens have had financial dealings with a number of the companies and trade associations involved in AFMB, including the APA and a number of companies that received significant federal funding from the group during his time on the board. All told, Ben Stevens was paid more than $659,000 by fishing companies from 2000 to 2005, according to financial disclosure forms filed with the state.

In addition, Stevens received more than $243,000 from VECO Corp., which also is being investigated.

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