Sen. Stevens denies he hid gifts

By James Vicini

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Sen. Ted Stevens broke the law by concealing hundreds of thousands of dollars in gifts, a prosecutor said on Thursday, but his lawyer defended the Alaska Republican as honest and said the evidence will show he is not guilty.

In opening statements to the jurors at Stevens' trial on corruption charges, Justice Department prosecutor Brenda Morris said he filed false financial disclosure forms with the Senate from 2000 through 2006 by omitting over $250,000 in gifts.

But defense attorney Brendan Sullivan replied that Stevens, one of the Senate's most powerful Republicans, was a devoted public servant. "He did file accurate statements to the best of his knowledge," Sullivan said.

The trial, expected to last about a month, may determine the political fate of Stevens, 84, who is running for re-election in November. If convicted, he likely would be unseated. If acquitted, he could win another six-year term.

Stevens, who has been in the Senate for 40 years and is the longest-serving Republican senator in U.S. history, faces a close race in what has long been a safe Republican seat.

In the courtroom packed with spectators, Stevens sat silently at the defense table, often frowning as he listened while the prosecutor described the gifts he received from the Alaska oil services company VECO Corp, from its former chief executive Bill Allen, and others.

"This is a simple case about a public official who took hundreds of thousands of dollars of free financial benefits and took away the public's right to know that information," Morris said.

She said the gifts included extensive renovations to Stevens' home in Girdwood, Alaska, including a new first floor, plumbing, heating and electrical work, a deck, a garage and a roof. VECO also provided an architect, numerous workers and materials for the renovation.

Morris said VECO acted as a personal maintenance and service provider for Stevens. "We reach for the Yellow Pages," she told jurors in reference to the telephone directory. "He reached for VECO."

Other gifts that Stevens received, but failed to report, included a $2,700 massage chair, an Alaskan sled dog and a $3,200 stained-glass window, she said.

"This case is about concealment, the defendant hiding these things so the public wouldn't know he got them and, more importantly, so the public wouldn't know who he got them from," Morris said.

Sullivan, a well-known defense lawyer whose high-profile clients have included Iran-Contra figure Oliver North, said Stevens was innocent.

"The evidence will demonstrate that you are dealing here with a man who is honest and would not have intentionally violated the law," Sullivan said.

Sullivan said Stevens and his wife paid $160,000 for the home renovations and did not know about the one bill that Allen took care of. "You cannot report what you don't know."

He said Stevens never asked for such gifts as a gas grill, a tool box, furniture and outdoor lights, that he had no idea of the value of the stained-glass window and that some of the work on the house had to be done to correct design defects.