Alaska Senator Guilty of Corruption

Ted Stevens of Alaska, the Senate’s longest-serving Republican, is guilty of lying about receiving gifts, a jury found this afternoon. The guilt verdict on seven felony charges could spell the end of a long career for the Alaskan political patriarch. Stevens, 84, failed to report more than $250,000 in gifts from Bill Allen, the former head of Veco Corp., and others. The senator had told the court he didn’t want the gifts and was unaware of them. He faces five years in prison on each of the seven charges, but is likely to serve little of that time.