• Posted on Tuesday, July 7, 2009
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Alaska judge: No more delays for sentencing of Stevens witness

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Declaring that enough is enough, U.S. District Judge John Sedwick refused to accept another sentencing delay for former Veco Corp. chief executive Bill Allen and ordered him to stand for his punishment on corruption charges in October.

Allen was a key witness in the trials of then U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, and two state legislators convicted of corruption charges: Pete Kott and Vic Kohring.

In April, the Justice Department moved to void Stevens' conviction, citing prosecutorial misconduct.

Allen and Smith each pleaded guilty to three felony counts May 7, 2007. At the time, prosecutors asked their sentences be delayed while they continued their investigation of Alaska politicians. Sedwick agreed, and set a date for a status reports. Since May 7, 2007, prosecutors have filed six status reports, all under seal, asking for continuances.

Sedwick said that's no longer good enough.

"Given these considerations, the court finds that it no longer in the interest of justice to continue a seemingly endless series of status reports which push the imposition of punishment further and further into the future."

Read more at adn.com

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