Theodore Fulton "Ted" Stevens (born November 18, 1923) is an American politician from Alaska. He is currently the longest serving Republican in the U.S. Senate and, because of this, is the current president pro tempore. Stevens has been accused of directing excessive amounts of pork barrel projects to Alaska. This was most recently highlighted by the intense scrutiny of the two "bridges to nowhere" that were included in the law authorizing federal transportation programs through 2010.
Ethics Questions
In 2003, The Los Angeles Times published charges that Stevens had gotten rich through influence peddling, steering government contracts to his associates, and insider trading, all of which Stevens denied.
The details of the case are as follows. In 1997, Stevens invested $50,000 with developer Jonathan B. Rubini. In 2002 Rubini and his partner bought back the senator's interests in their deals for $872,000. During the time that Stevens had money invested with Rubini, Stevens steered a $450 million contract to Rubini to build and own housing at Elmendorf Air Force Base.
In 2005, The Anchorage Daily News published reports that Stevens' son Ben Stevens held a secret option to buy into an Alaska seafood company at the same time as Sen. Stevens was creating a special Aleutian Islands fishery that would supply the company with pollock worth millions of dollars a year.
In 2005, Stevens also prevented oil executives from being placed under oath when they spoke before a Senate comittee hearing of which he was the Chairman. It is unusual for this to happen, though it is well within the power of the Chair of a committee.