VECO Corporation
 | Template:Wikify is deprecated. Please use a more specific cleanup template as listed in the documentation. |
 | This date-July 2007 needs additional citations for verification. |
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Energy, chemical, and process industries |
| Founded | Wilmington, Delaware (1979) |
| Founder | William J. (Bill) Allen |
| Headquarters | , |
Area served | Worldwide |
Key people | Bill Allen, founder & CEO Peter Leathard, president & COO Roger Chan, EVP & CFO |
| Services | engineering, design/build, construction, project management, procurement, operations and maintenance services |
| Owner | Allen Limited Partnership (62%) Tammy Kerrigan Revocable Trust (17%) Leathard Limited Partnership (10%) Roger Chan (6%) Bill Allen (5%) |
Number of employees | 4,000 (2007) |
| Subsidiaries | Commonwealth Construction VECO Construction Norcon ECC-VECO VECO Federal VECO Gas Technologies, Inc. RTX Inc. |
| Website | www.veco.com |
VECO Corporation is an Alaska-based oil pipeline service and construction company. Founded in 1968, the company today is a major player in the Alaskan oil industries' support. VECO is also a worldwide player in the oil industry, having divisions in many major oil markets. Its CEO and vice president resigned as they pleaded guilty to extortion and bribery of elected officials in May 2007.[1]
On March 24, 1989, the oil tanker Exxon Valdez ran aground on Bligh Reef, spilling eleven million gallons of crude oil into the waters of Prince William Sound. The Exxon Valdez oil spill was the largest in United States history.
VECO was responsible for large parts of the spills clean up, hiring 2,500 workers to clean up the environmental disaster.
Voice of the Times
VECO's Ex CEO, Bill Allen, pays for the publishing of the "Voice of the Times," a half page counterpoint to the Anchorage Daily News which is published within the pages of the latter. The Voice of the Times is what remains of the Anchorage Times, a newspaper which went out of business due to competition from the Anchorage Daily News in 1992.
In accordance with an agreement reached between the former editors of the Anchorage Times and the Anchorage Daily News, space was provided for the Times' editors to provide a counterpoint to the Anchorage Daily News. From 1992 until 2002, the Anchorage Daily News provided this space for free. In 2002 the agreement was renewed for five years, but the "Voice of the Times" was required to pay for the space as though it was advertising.
On May 9, 2007 the Anchorage Daily News announced it would end the arrangement at months end, and it would cease publishing the Voice of the Times. Although ADN publisher Mike Sexton said the decision had been made a week prior, he was quoted a few days before this announcement as saying the situation was still under review. [1]
Alaska Legislature corruption scandal
 | This section documents a current event. Information may change rapidly as the event progresses, and initial news reports may be unreliable. The latest updates to this section may not reflect the most current information. (May 2007) |
On August 31, 2006 officers with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Internal Revenue Service raided the offices of several prominent members of the Alaska Legislature. Raided were the offices of Sen. John Cowdery (R-Anchorage), Senate President Ben Stevens (R-Anchorage), Rep. Vic Kohring (R-Wasilla), Rep. Bruce Weyhrauch (R-Juneau), Sen Don Olson (D-Nome), and Rep. Pete Kott (R-Eagle River).
Also named in the search warrants were VECO officers Bill J. Allen, Rick Smith and Pete Leathard.
The investigation involves allegations of illegal gifts to law makers from VECO, although others, including a pollster named David Dittman and real estate developer Mark Marlow have been named in search warrants but have less clear ties to the case.[2]
Indictment, arrest of Kott, Kohring and Weyhrauch
On May 4, 2007, former Representatives Pete Kott (R-Eagle River) and Bruce Weyhrauch (R-Juneau) were arrested and charged with bribery, extortion wire and mail fraud. Current Representative Vic Kohring (R-Wasilla) later turned himself in and was similarly charged. All three were arraigned in Juneau. Charges against the three involved allegations of soliciting and receiving money and favors from VECO chief executive officer Bill Allen and chief lobbyist Rick Smith in return for their votes on an oil tax law favored by the VECO that was the subject of vigorous debate during the 2006 legislative session and two special sessions in 2006.[3]
VECO executives indicted, plead guilty
On May 7, 2007, VECO CEO Bill Allen and Vice President for Community & Government Affairs Rick Smith pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Anchorage to charges of extortion, bribery, and conspiracy to impede the Internal Revenue Service.[4]
In addition to the three politicians arraigned on May 4, the new court filings mention illegal payments made to a former state senator, named as "Senator B" in court documents, who received over $200,000 from VECO Corp. over several years, income which Senator B reported as "consulting fees." In the May 7 guilty pleas by Allen and Smith, they admit that the only work done by Senator B in exchange for the funds was advancing VECO's agenda in the state legislature.[4] The only former state senator who matches the information contained in court documents about Senator B is former Senator Ben Stevens (R-Anchorage), son of U.S. Senator Ted Stevens (R-Alaska). To date, Ben Stevens has not been indicted. [5] Another state senator discussed in the court documents, identified as "Senator A" in court documents, has been identified by sources as John Cowdery.[6]
Of the original 6 lawmakers who had their legislative offices searched, only State Senator Don Olson (D-Nome) has not been implicated in the scandal.
Allen, Smith resign from VECO
On May 11, 2007 the VECO Corporation announced that CEO Bill Allen and Vice President for Community & Government Affairs Rick Smith had resigned from the corporation. Allen will be succeeded as chairman of the board by his daughter, Tammy Kerrigan. A new CEO has not been chosen. It is not clear if the position of Vice President for Community & Government Affairs will be refilled. [2]
CH2M Hill files paperwork to buy VECO
on May 19, 2007 the Anchorage Daily News reported that Colorado-based CH2M Hill had filed paperwork to buy the VECO Corporation. [3] [4]
References
- ^ "VECO timeline". Anchorage Daily News. May 7, 2007.
- ^ Associated Press. (2006-08-31). "Aides say agents looking for gifts, financial information." Anchorage Daily News. Retrieved on 2007-05-07.
- ^ Burke, Jill. (2007-05-04). "Kott, Weyhrauch and Kohring arrested for corruption." KTUU Channel 2 News, Anchorage. Retrieved on 2007-05-07.
- ^ a b D'Oro, Rachel. (2007-05-07). "Oil service execs plead guilty to bribing Alaska lawmakers." Associated Press. Anchorage Daily News. Retrieved on 2007-05-07.
- ^ Demer, Lisa and Sheila Toomey. (2007-05-07). "Unnamed lawmakers cited in federal charges against Veco identifiable." Anchorage Daily News. Retrieved on 2007-05-07.
- ^ Tracy, John. (2007-05-07). "VECO brass strike plea deal on charges of bribing lawmakers." KTUU Channel 2 News, Anchorage. Retrieved on 2007-05-07.