A federal grand jury has indicted longtime Senator Ted Stevens, Republican of Alaska, on corruption charges after more than a year’s investigation, a federal law enforcement official has confirmed to The Times’s David Johnston.
Just a year ago, federal agents raided Mr. Stevens’ home following questions about renovations at the home. A few months before that, an Alaska businessman Bill J. Allen admitted to bribery, and in court papers acknowledged making $243,000 in possibly illegal payments to a state lawmaker identified only as “Senator B.” That abbreviation referred to Senator Ted Stevens’s son, Ben Stevens.
The 84-year-old senator is up for re-election this year while under investigative scrutiny, a matter that had not gone unmentioned by Democrats. His opponent, Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich, has been campaigning hard against the longest-sitting Republican member of the Senate, and Democrats were hopeful that Mr. Begich would be a serious contender.
