VECO Corporation
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
VECO Corporation is an Alaska-based oil pipeline service and construction company. Founded in 1968, the company today is a major player in the Alaskan oil industries' support. VECO is also a worldwide player in the oil industry, having divisions in many major oil markets.
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[edit] Exxon Valdez oil spill
On March 24, 1989, the oil tanker Exxon Valdez ran aground on Bligh Reef, spilling eleven million gallons of crude oil into the waters of Prince William Sound. The Exxon Valdez oil spill was the largest in United States history.
VECO was responsible for large parts of the spills clean up, hiring 2,500 workers to clean up the environmental disaster.
[edit] Voice of the Times
VECO publishes the Voice of the Times, a half page counterpoint to the Anchorage Daily News which is published within the pages of the latter. The Voice of the Times is what remains of the Anchorage Times, a newspaper which went out of business due to competition from the Anchorage Daily News in 1992.
In accordance with an agreement reached between the former editors of the Anchorage Times and the Anchorage Daily News, space was provided for the Times' editors to provide a counterpoint to the Anchorage Daily News. From 1992 until 2002, the Anchorage Daily News provided this space for free. In 2002 the agreement was renewed for five years, but the Voice of the Times was required to pay for the space as though it was advertising.
[edit] 2006 FBI/IRS raids on Alaska Legislature
On August 31, 2006 officers with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Internal Revenue Service raided the offices of several prominent members of the Alaska Legislature. Raided were the offices of Sen. John Cowdery (R-Anchorage), Senate President Ben Stevens (R-Anchorage), Rep. Vic Kohring (R-Anchorage), Rep. Bruce Weyhrauch (R-Juneau), Sen Don Olson (D-Nome), and Rep. Pete Kott (R-Eagle River).
Also named in the search warrants were VECO officers Bill J. Allen, Rick Smith and Pete Leathard.
The investigation involves allegations of illegal gifts to law makers from VECO, although others, including a pollster named David Dittman and real estate developer Mark Marlow have been named in search warrants but have less clear ties to the case. [1]
