Federal prosecutors in the political corruption cases want to delay indefinitely the sentencing of former Veco chief executive Bill Allen and vice president Rick Smith.
The investigation into corruption in Alaska has a "substantial amount of work" left to do, prosecutors said in court documents filed on Thursday.
"The current investigation is exceedingly complex due to a variety of issues and is ongoing," assistant U.S. attorneys Joe Bottini and James Goeke wrote in a status report to the court regarding Allen.
Allen and Smith pleaded guilty May 7 to three federal felonies including bribery and conspiracy. They face an estimated nine to 11 years in prison but hope to get lighter sentences as a result of their cooperation.
No sentencing dates have been set. U.S. District Judge John Sedwick gets periodic updates.
Justice Department and FBI officials have consistently declined to discuss the broader investigation or in what directions it might be headed.
The testimony of Allen and Smith helped convict two former state lawmakers of corruption charges, and a third is awaiting trial. Former House Speaker Pete Kott started serving his six-year prison term last month in Sheridan, Ore. Former Rep. Vic Kohring is set to be sentenced Feb. 11.
Allen and Smith testified in the Kott and Kohring trials that they bribed other current and former lawmakers who have not been charged. Prosecutors have examined Veco's involvement in the renovation of U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens' Girdwood home and various news media have reported that Alaska Rep. Don Young is also under investigation.
Allen began cooperating with the government on Aug. 30, 2006, the day he learned of the investigation. The next day, Smith was on board too, according to testimony. The FBI searched the offices of six state legislators on Aug. 31.
"Given the substantial amount of work that remains to be done in the government's investigation, the government requests that sentencing continue to be postponed in order to give the defendant time to fully realize the benefit of his cooperation," prosecutors wrote in the status reports.
The prosecutors hope to update Sedwick again at the end of April.
"This is the government's call," said Bob Bundy, Allen's lawyer. He said he didn't know if prosecutors are seeking more indictments. "They don't confide in me what they are doing."
Find Lisa Demer online at adn.com/contact/ldemer or call 257-4390.
