Exec: Workers Helped on Senator's Home

Former Alaska House Speaker Pete Kott, second left, walks through the federal court building with his daughter, Pam, second right, and others during a break in Pete Kott's corruption trial on Thursday, Sept. 13, 2007, in Anchorage, Alaska. (AP Photo/Al Grillo) (Al Grillo - AP)

The Alaska testimony comes on the heels of the revelation that Sen. Larry Craig, R-Idaho, pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor after an undercover sting in an airport men's room. Earlier, Sen. David Vitter, R-La., acknowledged that his phone number appeared in records of a Washington area business that prosecutors have said was a front for prostitution. The Senate Ethics Committee is looking into allegations that Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., tried to influence a federal prosecutor in an election probe of Democrats.

Of those, only Vitter's seat is not up for re-election next year.

Allen _ a longtime Stevens friend and political supporter _ in May pleaded guilty to extortion, conspiracy and bribery of legislators.

The workers at Stevens' home were VECO employees, probably one to four at a time, Allen said. He said the work on the home lasted for "probably a couple of months." Later, he testified it might have been as much as six months.

Allen said he also gave Stevens some used furniture, and Allen visited the site every month or two. "Most of the time I was gone with VECO business," Allen said.

The remodeling job at Stevens' home was fraught with problems from the start. He estimated it would cost about $85,000 and told city building officials he would be his own contractor.

The plan was to raise Stevens' single-level home and, beneath it, construct a new first floor with two bedrooms, a game room and sauna. Complete with a wraparound porch, the completed project would be twice the size of the original, modest house in the town of Girdwood, about 40 miles south of Anchorage. Building records don't indicate how things went wrong, but somehow the framing was botched and help was called in to fix it.

Allen also said the plea agreement he signed admitted payments to Stevens' son Ben, whom Allen had hired as a consultant in after he left college in 1995. The consulting work continued after Ben Stevens was appointed to the Alaska state Senate in 2002.

"It was $4,000 per month," Allen said.

VECO is one of the state's largest oil field services company, with more than 4,000 employees. The company operates around the world but more than half of its work is in Alaska, supporting the oil industry with service and maintenance contracts, according to Allen.

Rick Smith, a former VECO government affairs vice president, followed Allen on the stand Friday. Smith in May pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiracy and one of bribery. He testified that the bribery charge applied to Kott, Ben Stevens and three other state lawmakers: former Republican Reps. Vic Kohring of Wasilla and Bruce Weyhrauch of Juneau and current state Sen. John Cowdery.

It was the first time Cowdery's name has been made public as part of an investigation. Smith revealed no details of his involvement with the Anchorage senator. Like Ben Stevens, Cowdery has not been charged.

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Associated Press writers Matt Apuzzo in Anchorage and Larry Margasak and Charles Babington in Washington contributed to this report.