Getting your player ready...
WASHINGTON — A longtime friend of Sen. Ted Stevens has taken the stand as the star witness in the Alaska Republican’s corruption trial.
Wealthy oil contractor Bill Allen once was a trusted confidant of the senator. Now he’s working with the Justice Department. The former friends barely looked at each other as Allen took the stand today in federal court in Washington.
Allen is expected to testify that his company, VECO Corp., performed more than $250,000 in free renovations on Stevens’ home in Alaska. Stevens allegedly concealed that on Senate documents.
The trial has weakened one of the Senate’s storied figures.
Stevens faces a tough Democratic challenge to a seat he’s held for 40 years.
