Another federal corruption indictment in Alaska.

[Blue_In_AK]

This one may or may not end up having national implications. Weimar has been a very influential person here for many years, and from what I learned from a former employee of his this morning, this is just the tip of the tip of the iceberg. As my friend put it, "Weimar should probably hire a bodyguard." He has had some dealings with Mark Begich, so I'm sure we'll be hearing more about it. Conjecture is that the legislator spoken of is former Representative Tom Anderson, who has already been convicted and is now in prison.


Weimar charged in ongoing corruption probe

By LISA DEMER | [email protected]

Bill Weimar, who rose to political prominence in Alaska and became king of private halfway houses, was charged this morning with two federal charges, including conspiracy, in U.S. District Court in Anchorage.

Prosecutors outline a scheme in which Weimar funneled money to an unnamed consultant for an unnamed state legislative candidate. Weimar had a longstanding relationship with the candidate and knew he would push for a private prison if he won, the charging document said. Weimar held a contingency interest in a private prison project that was worth $5.5 million, but only if the project were completed, the charges say.


Weimar, who owned Allvest Inc., becomes the 11th person charged in the broad, ongoing investigation by the FBI and U.S. Department of Justice into political corruption in Alaska. Weimar now lives in Big Arm, Mont.


The criminal complaint filed in Anchorage accuses Weimar of conspiracy to commit honest services mail and wire fraud, as well as a charge of "structuring financial transactions."

Prosecutors describe the latter as an effort to evade laws that require reporting of large withdrawals from bank accounts. They accuse Weimar of paying the consultant a total of $20,000 in August 2004 during the primary to cover expenses for the candidate, without reporting the payment and without routing it through the campaign.

<snip>

Weimar, now 68, helped start Allvest in 1985, then bought out his partners and turned it into a multimillion corporation with operations in Alaska and Washington state. Its government contracts were worth an estimated $10 million a year. In 2002, Allvest was forced into bankruptcy because of unpaid judgments in civil suits against the company. The bankruptcy case eventually was settled.

<snip>

[babylonsister]

1. Boy, Alaska is impressing me. So many crooks, but they're getting

caught. There's hope! ;)

[Blue_In_AK]

2. Yeah, it's like a parlor game...

Guess who gets indicted next? No doubt, people are taking wagers, office pools, etc.. My bet is on Don Young. :)

[roguevalley]

3. I agree, Blue. I also heard that FBI were taking pictures of that land

deal Murkowski got down here and had to give back. I wonder if we can be lucky enough to have our ENTIRE national delegation indicted. TRIFECTA!

[Blue_In_AK]

4. Wouldn't that be something?

She backed out of that thing really quickly (at least publicly), and I haven't heard much about it since, but you never know what's going on in the background.

By the way, when I was down there in Kenai this weekend for the run/walk for the women's shelter down there, Uncle Ted was out hobnobbing with the common folk and seemed quite in his element. We were going to ask him if he'd mind having his picture taken with us four Benson babes in our Benson T-shirts, but we didn't quite have the nerve. It was obvious though that he's still really popular down there. It was kind of weird to see him in his cords and sweater, no Hulk tie, just looking like someone's old grandpa. No matter the outcome of the trial, I have a hunch that the old guy is still going to pull a lot of votes, even if he's sitting in prison.

[roguevalley]

7. pray he's convicted. I know a ton of people who are going to vote

for him if he's acquitted but not otherwise. If they all get arrested, lets party. I'll meet you halfway at the Princess Lodge in Girdwood. :evilgrin:

[nadinbrzezinski]

11. You know we were in Alaska two weeks ago... cruise

and the little we could get just from the cruise industry shops, versus local (we shopped local and had some cruisers look at us weird, then again we didn't go to shop), told me the politics is really hard core

By the way loved the Tsongas National Forest hike on Sitka and when stevens went back to Ketchikan I actually KNEW where that was... and it was also a cold day (and rainy) when we visited

Ok, cold for us southern californians...

But you could tell, even in the tour, that something was going on.

[Blue_In_AK]

17. It really is beautiful in Southeast

I'm sorry about your weather, though. It's usually pretty wet down there, but this year has been exceptionally cold and damp all over the state.

Yes, the politics is hard core, and EVERYBODY has an opinion. There's probably as much political talk going on up here as there is in DC, seriously. Even when you're out on a fishing charter, as we were last week, the talk inevitably turns to politics. It's just what we do here. :)

[Blue_In_AK]

16. That sounds lovely, Rogue.

I think the Princess is great. :evilgrin:

[callous taoboy]

5. Don "We can't just let wildlife run wild" Young? Oh please, oh please...

A good buddy of mine ran against Don Young back in the 80's. His campaign slogan was, "Carlson, Of Course."

[Blue_In_AK]

6. Yes, the very same Don Young

who is up to his eyeballs in corruption, everybody knows. I thought for a while that he wouldn't make it out of the Republican primary this year, but Sean Parnell, his chief Republican opponent, was just pathetic in a televised debate last week, and his other opponent, Gabrielle LeDoux, seems to have been somewhat marginalized by the party and, barring a miracle, will probably come in third. Of course, of the Republicans she's my favorite -- I always pull for the underdog. :)

I seem to remember that Carlson name. Was it Dave maybe?

[callous taoboy]

9. Yes, Dave "Dude" Carlson. All-around great dude...

He also goes by "The Congressman."

[Blue_In_AK]

10. I've probably seen him around

not knowing his last name. We're a big state, but a small community.

[Blue_In_AK]

8. Wow, this is quick.

Weimar already pled guilty to the two counts this afternoon. Sentencing set for October 29. I'll bet he's singing like a canary to keep his sentence light.

http://community.adn.com/adn/node/128841

[callous taoboy]

12. Yowie. Maybe Carlson, of course, will ride again.

:smoke:

[callous taoboy]

13. What's Weimar's political affiliation, Blue?

[sofa king]

14. Hee hee, he's the Weimar Republic

http://www.adn.com/weimar/story/490989.html

According to that article, while he was a "Democratic activist in the 1970s, Weimar later became close to the Republicans who controlled the Alaska Legislature."

In other words, he's DLC.

[Blue_In_AK]

15. Weimar is an equal opportunity corrupter

as the previous poster pointed out. We do believe, though, that Candidate A is a Republican, Jerry Ward, from the Kenai Peninsula. There is an immense amount of speculation going on about who else will come crashing down here, especially since this guy is no doubt going to be "singing like a canary." The Alaska Dems haven't always had clean hands. In such a Republican state, the few Democrats who have managed to rise to positions of real power have probably done so "with a little help from their friends."

Here's a link to today's updated version of this story, for anyone who's interested. Our politics is just crazy.

http://www.adn.com/weimar/story/490989.html

http://www.adn.com/politics/story/490975.html

Note that our old friends at VECO are also implicated in this.