Imprisoned Veco chief executive Bill Allen will not be a government witness in the trial of former Juneau state Rep. Bruce Weyhrauch, according to a court memorandum filed Wednesday by Weyhrauch's attorney.
In his 13-page filing in U.S. District Court in Anchorage, Doug Pope said he was told by federal prosecutors that they had no intention of calling Allen, whose credibility has suffered since he was the chief government witness in three prior federal corruption trials.
Allen's most prominent role was in the 2008 trial of former U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens, where Allen told how he renovated Stevens' Girdwood home and bought him numerous gifts, none of which were disclosed by Stevens. His testimony was also crucial in sending former state Reps. Pete Kott and Vic Kohring to prison in 2007.
But much has changed for both the government's corruption investigation and Allen since then.
After a jury found Stevens guilty, the case against him fell apart when the Justice Department admitted it failed to turn over significant evidence to Stevens' attorneys, including FBI reports showing Allen's statements evolving over time. Allen's statements to FBI agents generally became more damning of Stevens as Stevens' trial date approached, according to interview notes that became public.
As a result of the Stevens' debacle, six prosecutors are themselves under investigation for criminal contempt by a special prosecutor. They, and FBI agents involved in the Alaska corruption investigation, are also under internal Justice Department investigation. That status of both investigations is unknown, except they appear to still be underway.
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