John Cowdery, Public Corruption, Alaska 2008
A former Alaska state legislator has been sentenced to serve six months of home confinement for his role in a public corruption scheme.
Former Alaska State Senator John Cowdery was sentenced to three years probation with a special condition requiring him to serve six months of home confinement for conspiring to bribe another Alaska state legislator, according to the U.S. government.
U.S. District Judge Ralph Beistline for the District of Alaska also ordered Cowdery to pay a $25,000 fine.
The corruption scheme involved a proposed petroleum profits tax, or PPT, that Cowdery and others wanted the Alaska state legislature to pass in 2006. The PPT was sought by VECO Corporation, a now-defunct multinational oil field services company.
Cowdery admitted to conspiring with Bill J. Allen, the former chief executive officer of VECO Corporation, and Richard L. Smith, a former VECO vice president, to offer at least $10,000 in purported campaign contributions to another state senator in exchange for his support of the PPT.
The case is part of a larger investigation into public corruption in Alaska that has resulted in ten criminal convictions to date. Other defendants in the case include former Alaska state legislators Thomas T. Anderson, Peter Kott, Victor H. Kohring, and U.S. Sen. Theodore F. Stevens.
The case was investigated by the FBI and the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigative Division.
Key Facts
- State: Alaska
- Category: Public Corruption
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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