Justice League TV: FBI seized Stevens note.

<--6/7/07 Dear Wev -- My staff tells me I did not respond to your May 23 letter. I truly believed I did as I answered a series of "thank yous" from people who wish us well in these hours of strife. This is a sad portion of my life -- it will take time to explain. Catherine and I personally paid over $130,000 for the improvements to our chalet in Girdwood. Someone -- or more than one -- keeps telling the FBI that's not so. Takes time to go back over five years to prove they are wrong. I do appreciate your comments. My best Ted

From Anchorage Daily News:

'OVER $130,000' PAID: Two pages to former federal prosecutor become part of probe into home remodeling.


FBI agents earlier this week retrieved a handwritten note by U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens to former U.S. Attorney Wev Shea in which Stevens said he and his wife paid "over $130,000" for the Veco-supervised renovations to their home in Girdwood.

The amount described in the note, dated June 7, is the only time Stevens is known to have put a figure on his out-of-pocket costs for the 2000 addition, which more than doubled the size of the house. Stevens told reporters last month that he paid every bill he received, leaving open the possibility that he wasn't billed for all the work. He has declined to answer any more questions.

If $130,000 is an accurate total, it would raise questions about how such a major renovation could have been accomplished within such a tight budget. The carpentry contractor alone said he was paid more than $100,000 by Stevens. Another contractor, who raised up the house to make room for the new first floor and built part of the foundation, said he too was paid by Stevens, though he didn't recall the amount. The earth-moving contractor who prepared the ground for the job also said he was paid by Stevens.

That would leave little if any left over for a range of other work that was done, everything from design to plumbing and electric to a new roof. As recently as this week, Stevens declined to answer questions about how the project was billed and financed.

Federal investigators are keenly interested in the matter as part of their three-year investigation of official corruption in Alaska. They've subpoenaed witnesses to testify about the project before grand juries in Anchorage and Washington, D.C., and the FBI and IRS conducted a 12-hour search of the home July 30, with agents documenting the addition in painstaking detail. According to the office of the Senate historian, it was the first time a sitting senator's residence was searched in the history of those agencies.

Gotcha, Ted! ;-) Have a great weekend everyone!