Former Veco boss who served prison time in corruption scandal has died – Alaska Public Media

Invoice Allen, who was on the pinnacle of wealth and energy in Alaska till he was uncovered as a central determine in a political corruption scandal, has died. He was 85.

Allen based Veco, which was, for years, the state’s largest oilfield providers firm. He signed profitable contracts to scrub up Alaska’s worst ecological catastrophe — the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill.

Journalist Wealthy Mauer, who coated Allen’s authorized proceedings for the Anchorage Every day Information, says Allen was a pressure in Alaska politics lengthy earlier than the corruption case got here to gentle.

“He was probably the most highly effective individuals in Alaska as a result of he had the cash to offer to campaigns,” mentioned Mauer.

In 2007, Allen pleaded responsible to bribing state lawmakers to win votes for a state oil tax legislation favorable to his firm. The FBI secretly video-taped him in his Juneau resort suite discussing payoffs to legislators.

Allen was additionally the important thing witness within the prosecution of U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens, whose 2008 conviction was later overturned primarily based on prosecutorial misconduct.

Allen was given leniency in change for his cooperation and was sentenced to 3 years in jail. He served lower than two years. A funeral house in Grand Junction, Colorado introduced Allen died final Wednesday.