Witness alleges misconduct by Stevens prosecutors

From Paul Courson
CNN

WASHINGTON (CNN) - Sen. Ted Stevens lost his criminal case nearly a month ago, this week lost his bid for re-election and next year may lose his freedom when a judge sentences him, but defense attorneys want the judge to probe fresh allegations of prosecutorial misconduct that could keep him out of jail.

If the allegations prove accurate, the defense says the prosecution's behavior would warrant "a severe remedy, including dismissal of the indictment."

In a letter to U.S. District judge Emmet Sullivan, prosecution witness Dave Anderson said he initially did not remember important details about a construction project he helped oversee that doubled the size of the Stevens family home in the ski resort town of Girdwood, Alaska.

But after reviews of information with prosecutors, Anderson's detailed testimony helped convince a jury Stevens was guilty of failing to report that he received labor, materials and other gifts from Veco, an oil industry company and Alaska's largest private employer.