Alaska Politics Blog : Ramras: prosecutors too easy on "despicable" Allen, Smith

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Sean Cockerham

Sean Cockerham writes about Alaska state politics. He's worked for the ADN in Anchorage and Juneau, covered the legislature for the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, and covered Washington state politics for the Tacoma News Tribune. E-mail Sean at scockerham@adn.com

Kyle Hopkins

Kyle Hopkins covers rural affairs, general assignments and politics for the ADN. He covered the 2006 campaign for governor, has blogged extensively about Alaska politics, covered Anchorage city government and was a reporter based in the Mat-Su. He grew up in Southeast Alaska and previously wrote for the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner and Anchorage Press. E-mail Kyle at khopkins@adn.com and also find him on our rural Alaska blog, The Village.

David Hulen

David Hulen, the ADN's state and local news editor, is responsible for political coverage. He has been an editor and reporter at the ADN for more than 20 years. E-mail David at dhulen@adn.com

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Alaska political corruption

When the FBI raided state legislature offices in Aug. 2006, it publicly launched an investigation that ultimately reached the highest levels of Alaska politics, and continues to this day.

Ramras: prosecutors too easy on "despicable" Allen, Smith

Posted by Alaska_Politics

Anchorage Daily News

Posted: October 27, 2009 - 8:40 pm

From Sean Cockerham in Anchorage --

State House Judiciary Chairman Jay Ramras wrote Judge John Sedwick today asking him to throw the book at Bill Allen and Rick Smith.

Sedwick is to sentence the former Veco executives tomorrow for bribing Alaska legislators.

"Their degenerative behavior cannot be whitewashed by any provision of "cooperation with federal prosecutors"....Please demonstrate that these truly rogue characters, using the proper definition of the word, are sentenced to the maximum prison term allowed and are mandated into custody immediately," Ramras wrote in his letter.

Ramras noted to Sedwick that prosecutors' request of just over 40 months in prison for Allen and Smith means they "will potentially be sentenced to spend less time in prison than what the legislators they were accused of corrupting are spending."

Ramras, a Fairbanks Republican, is running for lieutenant governor.