Google Hits and Misses September/October 2009

I started doing these posts to highlight unusual search terms that got someone to this blog. This evolved into an assessment of how well Google directed someone based on the search terms, but it still has a mix of the two.

Here are two new insights I've gleaned about google search seems to work that I've gotten from this month.

1. Google takes all the terms on 'one page.' On a blog that will depend on how the blogger has set the pages. In my case, a 'page' is a month unless the month has too many posts and runs out of space. I'm assuming this because Google finds terms from unrelated posts and either picks one post to send the searcher to, or the whole page. You can see some examples below where I show what the Google search page showed the searcher.

2. Image searches look at the words in the post as well as the tags on the image. Sometimes this works well, sometimes not.

3. Google is pretty good at figuring out mispellings.




Bulls-eye
karen language hello - This person didn't just get the words for hello in Karen written phonetically, this person got a video tape of a Karen villager in Northern Thailand teaching me how to say hello in Karen. I'd call that a bulls-eye. Now, whether the dialect of Karen spoken in Texas is the same dialect, I can't say.

michael palin book apple seed potato - got to a post on Michael Pollan's Botany of Desire. which discusses apples, seeds, and potatoes. I'm impressed how Google can sort through mispellings. Pollan is not related to Palin.

botany of desire - One of the interesting parts of following google hits, is getting a sense that something is happening related to one of the items on your blog. I started getting an increasing number of hits for Botany of Desire as publicity came out about the television show based on the book.

why are professional baseball diamonds different sizes - this person got to a post "Why are baseball diamonds different sizes?" and then to the link to the NPR interview that answered the question. I'd forgotten all about this post. I had to go check the answer too.

grilled sticky rice - And they got a picture of grilled sticky rice in the banana leaf wrapper and a loose recipe as related by the Chiang Mai shopowner.



mountain ask leaf - I'll give Google a bullseye for this one. I'm assuming that the searcher mistyped and so did Google, giving him a picture of mountain ash leaves.





Close
Do spittle bugs have teeth - They got to this post on spittle bugs which shows the spittle, but doesn't discuss teeth.


inside of a banana sketch different sections - This was an image search that got to a picture of cross section of an elephant toe banana.

classical music effects on ice crystals - This was an image search and they got a picture of ice crystals on our storm door at -10˚F (-23˚C). But no music.

used italian ice machine - got to picture of an old Thai ice scraping machine in a post from Chiang Mai. Who knows? Maybe it originally came from Italy.

can't seem to wake up at amrit vela - I can't seem to wake up at the Eiffel Tower in the morning. Sometimes these searches leave me scratching my head only to find I do have something on this that I've totally forgotten. This got to a post on the Golden Temple in Amritsar, India where you can find out what amrit vela means. It does make sense after all. Well, actually, instead of giving the specific post, Google gave the whole archive page for October 2006. Again, some of the words come from other posts. So you have to scroll down to Oct. 25.
red & yellow flower pointed upwards indoor plants long stem - got to this picture of a red flower on the trail to Doi Suthep in Chiang Mai, Thailand. BTW, Doi means mountain, Suthep is a type of angel.



snow leopard update blank screen - I got a lot of these, more for 'black' screen. With good reason. I have several posts on my snow leopard problem. Google first took most people to a post I wrote before I had the solution. When I saw this, I did put links in all the posts about the black screen to get them to the cure post. And only some people took that link. By October 10, it seemed that most of these were being sent to the post with the 'cure' at the end of the title. So Google can learn. The number of these searches also confirms that this is inherent in Snow Leopard.



A Stretch -

nice green birds for cage - This was a person from Canada. I can understand wanting to have a nice green bird around, but the idea of putting a bird into a cage for one's entertainment is a little disturbing. I recognize there's a difference between capturing a wild bird and putting it into a cage and getting one born in captivity. But people raise birds to sell only because there are people who want to put them in cages. This person got to a picture of picture of a bird of paradise in the Bird Park in Singapore. It's a very big cage and you can barely see the bird for all the greenery, but it's still in a cage. Sort of like being under house arrest.

rumor of birds in the house - More birds. Not sure what this means exactly, but it got to a post about a bird that flew into our bedroom window and other bird-house incidents.

kenny g is a jehovahs witness - Well, I have posts on Jehovah's witnesses and I have a post on Pat Metheny writing about Kenny G. But nothing that combines the two. There was a surprisingly large number of people googling Pat Metheny on Kenny G.

apple genius josh at apple store santa monica fired - Well, I did go to the Apple Store in Santa Monica and I did spend time at the genius bar, but I don't recall anyone named Josh. Google found all the words in scattered over four posts. The searcher simply got to my blog - not even a specific post.

parking garages hidden inside mountains pictures - This Austrian searcher got a picture of a parking garage in LA, not at all hidden in a mountain. It was way down on the page they got, but since it was an image search, they did get to choose from a page full of pictures.

famous people who were born in dangerous places - Don't know how helpful this was, but it was an interesting search. They got to Famous People Born in 1909.

what ethical obligations do you personally feel towards wolves and whales - Got to a post about an article written about Wales, Alaska. It talked about ethical obligations urban Alaskans have to understanding the history of rural Alaska among other things.



Probably Not Google's Fault

Sometimes searchers give Google a real challenge. What did these people want?

how to make the constitution 1500 papers in photoshop - Who knows what this person was after? Not me. Their search got several posts mashed into one and it linked them to one on a post where I photoshopped a picture I took while cross country skiing. But I put the blame here on the person searching - what was he looking for?

what can i grow that isn't agapanthus - lot's of things I'd venture. Can't blame Google for sending this to a post that mentions agapanthus. This is someone who needs to think about her search terms more carefully.

thyland people are eatting abortion child flash is it true - this query came from someone in India who got to a post on the ethics of publishing photos of children. Google combined Children, people's, flash, eating from several different places on the blog.

photo gull light cloudy sky new york city airport - Was this person looking for a specific picture or a picture with all those things? Since this was an image search the searcher presumably got lots of pictures to look at. But this one had no gull, was not New York City or even an airport. But It did have clouds and blue sky. The post it was in mentioned the Santa Monica Airport. I've started to notice - now that I can usually see the image search terms - that Google considers not only the terms in the photo file name, but also terms in the post as well.

does human nature exists in everyone - Now this is an interesting question. I've never directly addressed this question, but the searcher got directed to the post on why everyone should study philosophy.

how much wild salmon 28 weeks pregnant - What was this person looking for? How much she could eat at 28 weeks? How long salmon are pregnant? She got a post on the difference between wild, farmed, and hatchery salmon.

last year when it snowed for eight days complete sentence? - Not completely sure what the searcher wanted. Whether his words were a complete sentence? I'm guessing it was a school assignment and he had to complete the sentence. The google hit combined several posts and had the word snow. The post was about the president-elect breaking with tradition by using complete sentences when he talked.



You Missed This One Google


Most of these are Google trying too hard to come up with something. Google has trouble saying, "I can't find anything" and maybe that's ok. People find things they didn't know they were looking for.


mango 21 44000 - There's 44,000 in one post. mango in another. And 21 in the google search information. But I don't think this was what the German searcher was looking for.

What Do I know?: 44000 (NYE) at Alaska Women Against Palin ... - [ Diese Seite übersetzen ]

13 Sep 2008 ... That would be like having 44000 people rally in New York City, 20800 in LA, or 15350 in Chicago. ... I can see the mango and sticky rice, but I can't reach it. But I'll learn. ..... 21 hours ago ...
www.whatdoino-steve.blogspot.com/.../44000-nye-at-alaska-women-against-
palin.html - Im Cache - Ähnlich

wat do they mean when they say the the duty of the beast in flesh by a split second - Maybe I should have a category of "Searcher goofed." Google found some posts that had some of words. But they weren't all one posts and ultimately I doubt they answered whatever question the searcher had. Here's what Google gave him that got him to this blog:

What Do I know?: January 2008

Jan 5, 2008 ... Yes, despite the flesh in the ADN promo article, it's fine for kids ...... 666, the Antichrist and the Mark of the Beast Who is the Antichrist .... Whatever they say is calculated. Truth is a strategic choice, ..... Just because one has the legal right to do something doesn't mean they should do it. ...
whatdoino-steve.blogspot.com/2008_01_01_archive.html - Cached - Similar -

I'm surprised they didn't find 'wat' too.


Should Google have some sort of minimum standard of words being together in a single post? While the bots can find the words really fast, it seems it still takes a human to say, "This is gibberish."

Or is this some sort of internet beach combing and people are just curious about what they might find? The collection of posts Google offered are all from one archived month. I think this is what I've seen before for what seems like random words collected from different posts. If that's accurate, then they have limited the searches to some identified 'page'. Thus they found a single 'page' that had the most words on it, though for a blog that means lots of generally unrelated posts. Perhaps it would be more meaningful on a regular website page. Perhaps they should have a filter for blogs.

what does moosegoose look like - Let me know if you find out. Google gave them a post titled "Moose, Goose Lake, UAA Science Building" I got another one about moosegoose as October ended.

molar tooth - The searcher got a picture (this was image search) of growing tamarind from seed. But it tells us a bit about how the image search works. In the text I mention that the seeds are about the size of a molar tooth. So Google is checking out the words in the text around the picture. This one clearly missed completely.


Does Google have a Sense of Humor?

money saving shopkeeper expert - This image search got to a picture labeled "Buddha Image Shopkeeper Chiang Mai." The picture is of a shop that sells Buddha Images.

Chinese Opera Comes to Anchorage

The first time I saw Chinese Opera was sometime in 1967 or 1968. I was teaching English at the Boys High School in Kamphaengphet, Thailand and the Chinese community had hired a group from Singapore to perform for some special occasion. There was a trailer that converted into a stage that was set up in a public area in town. The folding chairs were set out for the members of the Chinese community who sponsored the opera. The rest of the town could stand behind the chairs and watch. In a small town like that I got to visit backstage and meet with the actors. [I started this on Saturday and turned the house upside down trying to find some pictures of that first encounter with Chinese opera. In vain. But when I find them one day, I'll post them. This picture here is from UAA's website.]

Chinese opera is like asparagus. It's an acquired taste that requires small samples over time. I've had various opportunities over the years, to see bits and pieces of Chinese opera. Several more times in Thailand. Then when we lived in Hong Kong for a year, at the night market there were always small groups of actors/singers who would perform a scene or two on the street.


In China, Chinese opera was on television every night and once when I was there for a conference they took us to a performance for tourists. It was interesting because they explained things in English and they only showed short scenes. I'm sure the tourist agencies had discovered that most tourists couldn't last through too much Chinese opera. Besides the fact that it is all in a foreign language, the screechy singing and scratchy sounds of the stringed instruments, well, that's the part that takes getting used to.

Now it's a relatively familiar sound that brings back good memories.But I'm confident that at this performance they will give short glimpses of different operas with English explanations so that it should be easier for novices to understand what is happening.

So, come Tuesday, November 3, 2009

UAA's Wendy Williamson Auditorium
7pm (doors open at 6:30) Free!

Well, nothing is free. This is offered by the Confucius Institute at UAA. As I've said in an earlier post, this is sponsored by the Chinese government to promote Chinese language and culture around the world. And people speculate less savory agendas, but no more, I'm sure, than the US and other governments promote with their cultural outreach into other countries. If the Confucius Institute is merely a cultural exchange or a branch of the Chinese takeover of the world*, your taking this opportunity won't have much of an impact on their agenda, but you'll get to experience an art form that has been around for a thousand years or more. [*I'm mostly joking. Even if the worst fears about Confucius Institutes as outposts to monitor overseas Chinese is true, they will play only the tiniest role in China's increasingly important role in the world. And if you take the threat seriously, consider this an opportunity to get to know your enemy.]

The UAA website has a detailed description of the scenes they will be playing so I encourage you to visit that, even print out some of the descriptions before you go. If you take kids, and by all means do, letting them act out the scenes before you go would be great preparation. Let them watch some Chinese Opera videos on line (there are two below). The makeup and the costumes will be spectacular. I think kids can relate to the music better than adults who already have formed notions of what proper music is.

The first video looks like a Chinese television show about modern kids who are studying Chinese Opera. It's all in Chinese, but it shows practicing, putting on makeup, some performances. I think kids can relate to other kids even if it isn't in English. If they don't like this one, find another one and let them dance to the music and play one or two of the scenes described on the UAA website. They'll be a lot more interested when they see the real thing.






From the Illuminated Lantern, a site that reviews Asian movies, I've excerpted this description of the form of Chinese opera, but the whole piece, which is a description of the historic forms of Chinese opera is well worth a peek.

Although there are many different regional styles, they all share many similarities. Each have the same four role types: the female, the male, the painted-face, and the clown. Performances consist of singing, poetry, music, dance, and gesture. Emphasis is on costume and makeup rather than props or scenery. The operas often tell the same stories, though with various regional differences, such as alternate endings or additional characters. The information described within this article will, unless otherwise noted, pertain to Peking Opera specifically, and the regional operas more generally.

We can see four roles here in this description of one of the pieces to be presented Tuesday (from the UAA website.)

Autumn River 京剧《秋江》片段

This story happened during the Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279). Scholar Pan Bizheng is staying with his aunt at a Taoist temple when he falls in love with the Taoist nun Chen Miaochang. His aunt finds out and forces him to leave his love behind and go to Beijing to take the imperial examination. When Chen Miaochang learns that Pan is leaving, she runs to the bank of the Autumn River and hires an old fisherman to follow him. The two meet on the road, travel to Beijing and get married.
The role of Chen Miaochang is played by Hua Shan.

Clearly Scholar Pan is the male role and Taoist nun Chen is the female role. I'm guessing the old fisherman is the clown and that leaves the aunt as the painted face, but I'm just guessing.

Don't miss this. Bring the kids. Sit as close as you can or bring binoculars. And since it's free, if you tire quickly, you can leave without feeling you've lost your money. And you'll forever be able to say you've seen Chinese Opera live, and if you're lucky, you'll get hooked.

If you've never heard it before, it is a bit of a shock to Western ears, so check out this video of Teochew dialect opera (the kind I first heard in Thailand) so it will be a bit familiar when you come Tuesday night. This is from yeohts8192289 at Veoh, he's from Penang, Malaysia.

"The Air Conditioned class has very little in common with the sweating masses"

A Muslim friend from that part of the world emailed me a link to the recent NY Times article about the CIA employing Afghan President Karzai's brother and prefaced it with these comments:

How simply it works: pay a collaborator to keep the insurgency going so that the issue is alive (central asian energy, China / Russia encirclement ...) and the new Great Game is played at the cost of 600 American lives this year alone... And you need not pay for the insurgency which sustains itself from the opium trade. The Taliban insurgency legitimises the West's occupation of and war on the poor of Afghanistan.

What this story points to is what's going on in Pakistan. The Military top brass and the political elite are in cahoots with the likes of CIA, et al whose agenda for the region they have adopted as their own in exchange for $1.5 billion a year [the actual amount is substantially more, of course]. The Air Conditioned class has very little in common with the sweating masses and have no choice other than be the accomplice of the ruling clique. That in essence is what is going on there.

[Note: I asked my correspondent what was meant by "war on the poor of Afghanistan" and the response is at the end of this post.]

We'd already had glimpses of that relationship in Pakistan in George Crile's book, Charlie Wilson's War. If you saw the movie, that was more like musical comedy whereas the book was a very readable, but also well researched and fact rich look into what happened in the 1980s. For some other sources on this topic see Tomdispatch which makes my point about the movie, but stronger:

Open Steve Coll's aptly titled book, Ghost Wars: The Secret History of the CIA, Afghanistan, and Bin Laden, from the Soviet Invasion to September 10, 2001, at almost any page and you're likely to find something that makes a mockery of the film Charlie Wilson's War.

The Times story begins like this:

Brother of Afghan Leader Said to Be Paid by C.I.A.

By DEXTER FILKINS, MARK MAZZETTI and JAMES RISEN
Published: October 27, 2009

KABUL, Afghanistan — Ahmed Wali Karzai, the brother of the Afghan president and a suspected player in the country’s booming illegal opium trade, gets regular payments from the Central Intelligence Agency, and has for much of the past eight years, according to current and former American officials.

The agency pays Mr. Karzai for a variety of services, including helping to recruit an Afghan paramilitary force that operates at the C.I.A.’s direction in and around the southern city of Kandahar, Mr. Karzai’s home.

The financial ties and close working relationship between the intelligence agency and Mr. Karzai raise significant questions about America’s war strategy, which is currently under review at the White House...

For the whole Times article go here.



Response to the question about "war on the poor":

What I meant by the "war on the poor" is the simple statistic provided by some international article: $233 billion on the war effort and $1.5 b.on humanitarian aid. In the last three days, Hillary has changed her ways and actually engaged with the people of Pakistan by visiting a saint's shrine and engaging with students at a university rather than returning after talks with the President. She has dished out a billion dollars in Pakistan over three days (already committed but symbolically given out at universities and the like).

What I mean by the war on poor is that "collateral damage" is almost always the poor. The drones and their super efficient missiles rarely ever kill the rich. The immoral leaders of our wretched land have such rosy lives ...even in their death they have tens of doctors to let their soul out softly. Robert Mugabe is said to have a team of Chinese doctors permanently settled in Harare to give him aphrodisiacs at age 86.

As a former Finance Minister of Pakistan (and a great intellectual at Columbia Mahboobul Haq whose Poverty Curtain was akin to the drawing of the Iron or the Bamboo curtain across the developing world) once remarked privately (and told to me personally by the Minister's teacher): "Sacrifices are always paid by the poor...and thanks God I am not poor)

While million dollar tanks or hummers roll by and while the million dollar planes bomb the hell out of all, the poor have no running water or sanitation...

So all wars are essentially against the poor whose leaders are already on the payroll of the UFOs. [Unidentifiable Foreign Organization.]

At the end of the day, the world is about winners and losers. Someone makes money at the expense of the others. Although I espouse an abundance mentality (i.e. that there is enough for all of us if we just shared it fairly), the human race is about a hundred or so Warren Buffets controlling so much wealth that it exceeds many national economies. This imbalance means that someone's wealth comes at someone else's expense. Every time that a Nike shoe is bought in the US, Nike and Wallmart make x number of dollars to add to their overflowing tills (their shareholders make money) - but do the Indonesians or the Pakistanis who produce those shoes get a fair deal - or for that matter do the Wallmart employees get a better rate because their employer is better off. No their wages are determined by that immensely creative contraption of Mr. Adam Smith: the invisible hand of the market. As someone said, a sucker is born every minute: so for every fat banker there a thousand "sub-primes" and their foreclosures who have paid for flabby middle parts.

Empires are not built form nothing. In past ages they were built from the blood and bones of the vanquished, now while the poor buggers remain alive they continue to provide producers with their muscles and captive markets. [You must have heard of the Fair Trade Label whose coffee is five times more expensive than the Maxwell House on our tables ..because they pay Ethiopian traders five times what the MNCs [MultiNational Corporations] pay].

In the process of creation and consumption of wealth, some people create more than they can consume and others have to consume more than they can produce - i..e they are too poor to provide for two meals. What happens to that wealth? They invest to make it produce more wealth ...from where.

Money is not created out of thin air. So when the US spends on Mr. Karzai to get results it wants, Mr. Karzai also goes out to make his money - from whom. The drug lords who make their money from the addicts of Kabul - and New York. Technically, these addicts are rational actors but are they really? What about learned helplessness of the slaves - now called African Americans.

Highway to Highway Comments due Friday, October 30, 2009

October 30, 2009 is today. How many of you have been to one of the meetings that shows all the options? The ADN had a front page story with rough maps of their seven options today, but what do we actually know?

Rep. Les Gara wrote at Alaska Dispatch a week ago:

Lots of you are justifiably scared that state, city and private traffic planners have, well, gone loopy on us. It's time for some straight talk about threats you've heard that traffic experts would actually build a new highway through Anchorage's densest neighborhoods, and maybe even through your kitchen.

Here's the skinny. These folks aren't necessarily nuts. They're just messing with you. The National Environmental Policy Act probably requires them to pretend they are considering completely insane highway route alternatives through Anchorage that, from the mail I'm receiving, have scared the bejesus out of many of you. What they haven't told you is that most of their proposed route alternatives have almost no chance of moving forward.

I've been out of town for the last three weeks so I've only seen what it says on the website. But I'd like to add a couple more options:

Option 8: Just forget the link and use the money to improve other forms of transportation to make walking, biking, and taking the bus more feasible for commuters.

and

Option 9: This is going too fast. I haven't had time to get to one of the meetings and the website isn't clear. Push this back a couple of months and let more people get involved.

The goal, to alleviate Anchorage traffic by allowing vehicles to bypass surface streets in town, sounds reasonable. But if it means a freeway cutting through established neighborhoods or large urban parks like Russian Jack, it may not be worth it. We need to have some creative thinking that establishes a solution that works fifty years from now, not something that maybe made sense fifty years ago when no one ever heard of global climate change and gas was 25 cents a gallon.


But today is the deadline. So you if you don't know what the implications are, you could cut and paste Option 9 into an email to let them know there are people out there who haven't been to the meetings but still are concerned. Here's the address:

contact@highway2highway website.

Here's their website

Here's the Anchorage Citizens Coalition site which offers alternative ideas. But you have to send in your comments today.

Korea's Anonymous Blogger Guru

An article in Slate tells the story of a Korean nobody who anonymously became an economic blogger guru. The story also reminds us that different countries have different levels of democracy.

Until the day he was outed, the most influential commentator on South Korea’s economy lived the life of a nobody. Park Dae-Sung owned a small apartment in a middle-class neighborhood of Seoul and freelanced part-time at a telecom company. Thirty years old, he still hoped to earn a four-year degree in economics. In the mornings, he would bicycle to the public library to study for the university entrance exam. His standard uniform was slacks, loafers, and wrinkle-free button-down shirts, as though he were going to work in an office. But with his slightly chubby moon face, glasses, and neatly parted hair, he easily blended in among the rows of students. While they worked through school assignments, he immersed himself in the text of his chosen profession. . .

Then, in March 2008, Park opened an account on South Korea’s popular Daum Agora forum. Here, he decided, he would call himself Minerva, after the Roman goddess of wisdom, and write exclusively on economics, drawing on both public reports and his years in the stacks poring over Adam Smith and Joseph Stiglitz. Affecting the effortless command of a seasoned investor, he strove to project the authority that had eluded him in real life. The world economy is in the midst of collapse, he warned, so pay your debts and stock up on noodles and drinkable water. He made pronouncements on when to buy or sell a home, exchange Korean won for dollars, and pull out of the financial markets altogether.

As the financial crisis deepened, events confirmed Minerva’s prophecies all too terribly. By early fall, each new dispatch would rise into Daum Agora’s top five headlines, carried by a tide of user votes and drawing hundreds of thousands of pageviews. South Korea’s daily press began publicizing Minerva’s predictions and speculating about his identity. The more the newspapers tried to pierce the veil of Minerva, the more their readers devoured his posts, until it seemed the goddess was giving marching orders to the entire economy. . .

The rest is at the Slate link. A much shorter April 21, 2009 NY Times article fills in a little more. The story raises questions about being anonymous, about people believing anonymous bloggers, about outing anonymous bloggers, about privacy of internet accounts, and a number of other issues.

Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) Prevention Meeting

This statewide panel called DELTA (Don't ask what DELTA stands for; it's the most convoluted acronym ever, but if you insist, go here) is made up of people involved in promoting healthy relationships (the positive way of saying preventing intimate partner violence.) I've posted about previous meetings over the last couple of years. I spent much of today at the statewide steering committee meeting.

I'm the only person who is not actively involved in work that touches on this prevention work and I'm always amazed at how much interesting stuff is being done around the state. There are youth programs where kids get training on this so they can be peer counselors and so they can be leaders of the next generation in this work. The Municipality of Anchorage has been a leader in spearheading the collection of good data in this area and developing resource material for people needing help in this area and other areas. Though budget cuts threaten the work they are doing in this area.

Despite all the work being done, it's still way underfunded considering that Alaska has two of the worst five cities in the nation in terms of incidence of rape and sexual violence. That's one of the reasons the Center for Disease Control in Atlanta is paying for DELTA to develop a more coordinated Statewide plan to combat intimate partner violence. And while the Municipality of Anchorage appears ready to abandon this, there are signs the Governor's office may have an interest.

This is about all I can write tonight - it's either got to be short and vague or much longer and more detailed than I can handle right now. Here's the cover of a report the Muni is getting ready to release. They showed it to us, but it hasn't been approved yet so we didn't get to see more than the cover.

"Allen was a sitting duck" and other thoughts about the sentencing hearing

I've posted my very unofficial and rough transcript of the sentencing hearing and one with just Allen's statement to the court. So let me now write down some of my reactions to what I saw.

He was a sitting duck . . . He was vulnerable.

Defense attorney Bundy tried to portray Allen as the victim of greedy legislators who took advantage of his zeal for the PPT (variously called the Petroleum Profits Tax and Petroleum Production Tax) and his generosity.

Bundy: There was no organizing, strategy to talk to legislators to agree on one side, that was the strategy, lobbyists do that all the time, spending billions of dollars on health in DC now, What happened in this situation, because of Mr. Allen’s obvious desire to have PPT passed, he bellied that was the right way. and they knew his history of generosity, he was a sitting duck for these people. They came to him. Mr. Kohring had to approach, Mr. Kott had to approach. 


Sedwick: What about 7 years of payments to Sen. B. Doesn’t that give us insight to what was in Allen’s mind?

Bundy: It is not illegal to pay a legislator to give advice. Nothing - Sen B was on the payroll before he became a Senator. To say Mr. Allen was an organizer way overstates his role. There was no secret he wanted to the PPT passed. The illegal solicitation was made by others. He didn’t solicit anyone. They came to him. He was vulnerable. They came to him.

I had to restrain myself so I didn't burst out laughing at this characterization. The judge wasn't buying it either.


Why didn't they mention the deal to not pursue Allen's kids?

Sentencing is based on guidelines and then factors that might kick you to a higher level or down to a lower level. According to criminaldefenselawyer:

How the Sentencing Guidelines Work
The court sentencing guidelines take into account both the seriousness of the offense and the offender’s criminal history, as well as mandatory sentencing guidelines, including federal criminal sentencing guidelines and federal prison sentencing guidelines for federal cases.
OFFENSE SERIOUSNESS
The sentencing guidelines provide 43 levels of offense seriousness— the more serious the crime, the higher the offense level.
BASE OFFENSE LEVEL
Each type of crime is assigned a base offense level, which is the starting point for determining the seriousness of a particular offense. More serious types of crime have higher base offense levels (for example, a trespass has a base offense level of 4, while kidnapping has a base offense level of 32).[There's more details at the link.]

In this case there was a lot of discussion about how Allen had agreed to cooperate immediately when he was taken in to the FBI headquarters and shown some of the tapes of him in his Baranof Hotel suite; about how much work he did for the prosecution; how he was important in getting the various convictions this investigation has gotten. So all this cooperation meant that he ended up getting more than the normal lowering of levels. OK, sort of.

But what wasn't mentioned was the agreement that was discussed in the press and at the Kott and Kohring trials, that part of his agreement to cooperate included immunity to prosecution for his children. Given that he thought they needed such immunity, I'd say this was a big benefit that he'd already gotten for his cooperation. It would seem to me that it should have been factored in. Perhaps in the agreement it was also not supposed to affect the figuring of what level he deserved. It just seemed like a glaring omission to me. Perhaps an attorney can comment and explain why it wasn't mentioned.

Comparing sentences of others to insure fairness

The judge mentioned that the public will compare Allen's sentencing with the sentencing of the others involved - Pete Kott and Vic Kohring. He said this was not an appropriate comparison because neither of them admitted their guilt, showed any remorse, or cooperated with the prosecution.

Not mentioned was Tom Anderson. Tom's case didn't directly involve Allen, though Tom had been employed by VECO during one out of session period, his case didn't involve the PPT tax or money from Allen. However, it was the first case to go to trial from this whole investigation. He got five years - two more than Allen. (Though his fine was minimal and Allen's was the maximum.)

People I've talked to agree that Anderson's sentence was high. People believe that, in hopes of sending a message to the others under investigation or indicted to cooperate, Anderson got a pretty stiff sentence. And Anderson, in his statement to the court at sentencing DID admit his guilt and remorse. And Anderson DID cooperate with the FBI for several months. Now he did stop that cooperation, but his conduct was very different from Kott and Kohring. It just seems that his sentence should also have been compared as well as Kott and Kohring's.


Bribes versus Gratuities

This was raised by Judge Sedwick because bribes raise the sentencing by 12 levels and illegal gratuities would only raise it by 9 levels. He distinguished between the two by saying (this is a rough quote) "series of large payments made to State Sen. B - over extended period to insure in general in long run, not for performance of specific acts. Illegal gratuities, not bribes." Later he said a bribe was more of a payment for a specific act, a quid pro quo.

Prosecutor Trusty reminded the judge that Allen pleaded guilty to bribery, not to illegal gratuities.

There was also more discussion about the amount in illegal gratuities to Sen B was far greater than the relatively small amounts in bribes to Kott and Kohring but if these got mixed and then separated later, it would have little impact on the sentence.

In my fuzzy understanding of all this, this seems to have some implications - others can help clarify this perhaps. First, it reminds us what came out in the Kott trial, that Allen pleaded guilty to bribing State Sen. B, who is understood to be Sen. Ben Stevens. While the damage done by the prosecutors' mishandling of the Ted Stevens evidence has raised questions about whether the rest of the investigation will indeed proceed, it should be clear that if Allen pleaded guilty to bribing Sen. B, then probably Sen. B might well be guilty of receiving bribes.

(On the other hand, if Allen pleaded guilty to bribing Senator B because the Feds also had information on his alleged carrying on with a 15 year old girl and they would ignore that to focus on the political corruption - this was the Public Integrity Section of the FBI and not a vice squad - then maybe it's not that strong a case on Sen. B.)

It also raises the question of whether Sedwick thinks state legislators who are hired by companies that have a strong interest in specific legislation are receiving illegal gratuities, something the State of Alaska has denied, if I have my fact straight.


This will have to do it for now. This is all speculation so if I'm headed in the wrong direction, please explain why and get me in the right direction.

Bill Allen Sentencing

[Bill Allen was sentenced today. In a previous post today, I've put up my notes on Mr. Allen's statement to the court. This post includes my notes on what transpired in court as best as I could keep track. Allen's statement is repeated in here. Rick Smith was also sentenced - 21 months and $10,000. I'll post on that later along with comments on both sessions. Picture is after sentencing, leaving the federal building. ]

U.S. District Court for the District of Alaska
Wednesday, October 28, 2009

8:30 AM

3:07-CR-00057-JWS

Judge Sedwick

Anchorage Courtroom 3

USA

vs. BILL J. ALLEN

(James Trusty)

(George Terwilliger)

(Kevin Gingras)

(Robert Bundy)

(Peter Koski)

IMPOSITION OF SENTENCE

I got into the courtroom a few minutes late. Given predictions of possible snow I debated the bus, the bike, the car. Walking was out because I knew I couldn’t get up that early. In the end I decided to take the bike and get some fresh air on the way.

There were empty seats, but not many.

Most of this is pretty technical - how the guidelines work for sentencing. Based on various factors, sentencing is based on what level the defendant falls. Factors include the type of crime and then factors such as past record, cooperation with the prosecutors (a big deal in this case), remorse, etc. So that’s what most of this is about.

The sentence in the end was 3 years and $750,000 fine. I’ll give all the details here and then do another post where I’ll try to sort through what struck me as interesting.

Note: I typed as fast as I could, but the attorneys spoke faster than I could type. This is a rough approximation of what happened while I was in the courtroom. Judging from how I did in previous court sessions, this is maybe 60% of what was actually said, but you get the gist. But wait for the official court transcripts for the certain details.

Note 2: The names of all the attorneys are above. Bundy spoke most on behalf of Allen, but Terwilliger spoke at the end. For the Prosecution, I think Trusty did all the talking.


Very Rough Transcript:

8:34am

Objection lacks merit - would have reduced by 12 levels factual basis

2 other objections
1. use of guideline 2v1.1 relating to bribes rather that unlawful gratuities. If correct, adjusted upward by only 9 levels instead of 12

role in offense - 111-113 of pre-sentence report

Additional points
Both objected to discussion of James Clark, but I agree that Clark is bound n the conspiracy of PPT thus overruled

Beverly Masek and Stevens, US Rep A - will not be considered so nee not be addressed

Allen objections to info on scheme in 1980s using VECO employees to contribute to candidates. I think it relevant and should be included

Everything else supported by preponderance of evidence

2c1.1 - bribes 2c1.2 - gratuities - hear these arguments. My preliminary feeling is that gratuities applies

Account 1 - series of large payments made to State Sen. B - over extended period to insure in general in long run, not for performance of specific acts. Illegal gratuities, not bribes. If consider Kohring and Kott, if they were bribes, a small portion.


[Trusty:] Bribe v. Gratuity - nothing irrational the way court is approaching it. I would point out, first, that he has pleaded guilty to bribe e related nothing about out gratuities, it seems to me using the language that acknowledges quid pro quo - bribe

Q [Judge asking]: Focus on payments to State Sen B - not sure anything shows factual basis were bribes.

Prosecutor Trusty: I would submit Par. 4 p. ?? most operative - chronology describing the fact of payments and describing what is received in return. Less specific than PPT but does in fact indicate payments provided in exchange for giving advice, lobbying colleagues, and taking legislative acts. The bribe doesn’t have to be exclusively wedded to a single issue before the legislature. More of a standing retaining circumstance. Amount of years supersedes or extends beyond 200? legislature. Particularly 2006.

Other point - since each guideline is going to be grouped together ultimately, if some part is bribes and some gratuities, then at the end of the day, may end up with same sentencing.

Q: Count 2 carries maximum of 5 years, second 10

Prosecutor Trusty: I think you have those reversed.

Q: Directs court to use either one or the other without saying why.

Prosecutor Trusty: I think some is gratuities and some is bribes, overall loss amount/benefits amount is grouped, means the highest grouping controls.

Q: Your view, grouping two counts which are relevant - IRS count has no bearing ?

Prosecutor Trusty: Yes, Would be setting up two groups and ultimately grouping them anyway.

Q: The overwhelming payment here is for Sen B, and it seems warrant... ??

Allen Attorney: Bundy

Court given ability to choose which to use. Theres a huge difference here in the three levels in terms of dollar amounts - 10 or 12 level adjustment. To start at bribery amount 12 instead of 9 is a huge difference. When you have a guideline range that is changed dramatically like that, the court must find a clear and convincing evidence for that. We would say it is ambiguous.

Payments over 6-7 years - here the bribe should account for all of that.

Sedwick: I agree with Bundy that for 3 level difference need more certainty. I have no evidence the Sen B money was bribe - it may be, but no evidence. If ambiguous court is required to choose the more lenient.

Will use 2C1.2 - that difference is 3 levels.

Trusty: Will the court reflect our objection?

Sedwick: Yes


2.
Particularly video tapes I think the roll adjustment is correct.

Bundy: Roll adjustment - as in the pre-sentence report, what we saw in Kohring and Kott proceedings. Mr. Allen really wasn’t an organizer of much of anything. What occurred is people approaching Mr. Allen and asking for favors.

Sedwick: ARe you telling me there was no organization, no strategy?

Bundy: There was no organizing, strategy to talk to legislators to agree on one side, that was the strategy, lobbyists do that all the time, spending billions of dollars on health in DC now, What happened in this situation, because of Mr. Allen’s obvious desire to have PPT passed, he bellied that was the right way. and they knew his history of generosity, he was a sitting duck for these people. They came to him. Mr. Kohring had to approach, Mr. Kott had to approach. 

Sedwick: What about 7 years of payments to SEn. B. Doesn’t that give us insight to what was in Allen’s mind?

Bundy: It is not illegal to pay a legislator to give advice. Nothing - Sen B was on the payroll before he became a Senator. To say Mr. Allen was an organizer way overstates his role. There was no secret he wanted to the PPT passed. The illegal solicitation was made by others. He didn’t solicit anyone. They came to him. He was vulnerable. They came to him.

Prosecutor Trusty: I would submit 4 levels is appropriate here. Question is whether Allen is a leader or organizer of a scheme.
Actions of Allen as the court knows them - reflective of court
Person in charge of doling out promises, favors,
The way others treat Mr. Allen - people who sit there and report, repeatedly to Mr. Allen. People Mr. Allen can look in the eye and say I own your hind quarters. That says something. Someone in that position wouldn’t be talked to in that manner.

I don’t know the role in 2007, but was a non-binding estimate. Being a manager, if the court went for 2 level adjustment suggests there is someone higher than the manager, and there simply isn’t one. He isn’t just one of the players. No one above. No middle ground, the scope of the scheme covers the fie participants - Allen, Smith, State Sen B, state Senators A and C.

Payments between 1995 and 2001 are not part of the criminal conduct. Consultation is not illegal, but sham consultation payments are.

When people look people n the eye and says he owns them, and he is the center of the conspiracy, no one higher than him, there is no question at all.

Judge Sedwick: I think it’s clear he was the leader, as Mr. X points out, there is no one else who could have been. It may be correct that some of the minions knew how to take advantage of Mr. Allen, but only because it was known he was willing to put lots of money into what he wanted.

Also indicate, that I disagree with argument in Bundy’s brief that it has to be proven by clear and convincing, but it is clear and convincing aNYway.

advisory from 78-97 months, this is before considering motion for downward adjustment, and he is eligible for downward because all five conditions have been met.

Mr. Trusty:

Mere threshold of making a motion, …. some highlights, undisputed . Mr. Allen made an immediate decision to cooperate, and he has cooperated in a proactive manner, testified, made himself available, about 71 consultations, consented and participated in consensual recordings, and close circuit tv in his home on about 11 occasions. Clearly, Mr. Allen is worthy of this and we have submitted a motion of 8 level departure. this is a bit different from custom of this court because it goes beyond the normal 50% standard in this court. But we think it is justified here. What makes them unravel is having an insider that makes them unravel. Mr. Allen did the right thing by way of cooperation. Also note the cooperation with Judge Sullivan. We filed a second amendment to the plea agreement, that Mr. Schuelke’s probe would be a component of the cooperation. We think it might have been covered by the original plea, but modified it just in case.

[As I understand it, Schuelke was appointed by Judge Sullivan in the Ted Stevens case, to investigate the allegations of wrongdoings on the part of the prosecutors.]

9:08

Administrative proceedings would not be part of the plea agreement or modified pa.

In our assessment, guilty pleas have been secured with Mr. Allen's cooperation. Mr. Smith was guided by Mr. Allen. Indictments of individuals. What should b e considered in the reduction -

I would suggest to the court it would be appropriate for the court to assume Mr. Allen will continue to be available - as in Weyhrauch case. That would also be determined. Rather than amorphous sentencing or excluding that.

Judge Sedwick: I assume that he will continue in that role with Mr. Weyhrauch.

I have accepted the letter form Mr. S?

Bundy: We maintain strenuously that Mr. Allen has been forthright with the govt.

Judge Sedwick: I assume that.

Bundy: Govt. papers misstated, policy in this district when rule 31.c that ordinarily in plea agreement, the court cannot go below or the govt. will drop the agreement. It will not be lower than ½ unless extraordinary cooperation has occurred. Were 311c agreement, ….??? then there is no such policy.

Judge Sedwick c1c c1b court is free It doesn’t matter.

Bundy: If this were ?? would not be constrained. No policy that prevents….

Judge Sedwick: One thing that sometimes come out where 5k1 motion, cooperating witness has run great personal risk of being assassinated or having family killed. I’ve had a case where one witnessed took a ten year minimum because he was so scared. Was Allen under such a risk?

Bundy: Not aware of such a risk, but the level of

Judge Sedwick: I understand that, but I don’t think any of the witnesses…

Bundy: None of the witnesses, but some deranged person in the community…..

Court knows from medical examination, it was much more difficult for him to go through the gigantic amounts of information.

Judge Sedwick: I’ve seen Mr. Allen testify, I understand.

Trusty: You talk about threat, we have no information that there was any such information about a threat, and of course we would have shared that info had we had it.

Judge Sedwick: didn’t suggest you hid information.

Govt. asked for 8 level reduction, Appears to be appropriate. In connection with some federal crimes, victims allowed to speak at the hearing. Unlike bank robbery, the crimes here have no individual victims, but rather the public at large. Mr. Ray Metcalfe has asked to speak. Since I find he has suffered no particular harm, I find he doesn’t have a right to speak as in various cases named….. So Mr. Metcalfe doesn’t have right to speak

Not hear from Attorneys. Also address amount of fine. I’m seriously considering maximum fine by law $750K

Bundy: I’d like to make sure, on the record, ???? Amounts attributed to Mr. Kohring. $17,000 that Mr. K asked of Mr. Allen and court found he was good for that request. But he never gave him, never loaned him, never did anything illegal to fix his medical or master card payment.

Judge Sedwick: Does it make any difference in the sentencing?

Bundy: I don’t think so. And Mr. Kott assess $???? for a job he never got, Amount court finally approved came from Mr. Allen’s testimony in the Kott trial - that clearly is not, based on the plea agreement, is not allowed to be used.
From Sen. B’s payment - most considered to be legal - all but about 10% should not be considered.

Judge Sedwick. That

Mr. Terwilliger: Thank you for giving me the privilege of appearing in this court before your honor.

Judge Sedwick: To be honest, jut about any attorney can appear here.

Mr. Trusty [Terwilliger]: Niceties thank yous. Grateful for the professionalism with which we’ve been dealt with by our colleagues from the govt. Highlight a few:

1. Important but housekeeping
a. request that Mr. Allen serve his time in one of two federal prison camps - Sheridan Oregon or Tucson, Arizona, so he can have support of family without having to travel great distance.

We know how difficult this is, consider three factors:
1. alluded already by Bundy, Mr. Allen’s age and medical conditions
2. proportionality and balance - balancing the good in Mr. Allen’s life and what has been not good - violations of the law
3. Keen sense of justice


Age - 72 years old, going on 73. From both the PSR and Government recommendations, his normal life expectancy, not counting health problems, would have mr. allen spend ½ the rest of his life in jail. All the medications he takes, impaired cognitive functions, appreciate your comments, all are going to make his service of time more difficult than had he not had those conditions and ask you to take them into consideration.

Proportion and balance - Fair to say Allen created a record, that he is extremely hardworking, dedicated, goal oriented individual, Company he built from nothing with no education remarkable. Patriarchal with family and employees. I know you’ve looked at this. He’s done extraordinary things for people out of generosity. What happened here int terms of his involvement can be explained and not excused. he became focused on this pipeline on the benefits it would bring to Alaska, and allowed himself to turn his generosity into illegal behavior. Separating illegal from while there may be a body who view the pipeline or oil exploration may think not good for Alaska. He had views which are protected by the constitution. He allowed his goals to overcome his responsibility to obey the law. So, in doing what he did, he did cross the line.

All of that wrong has to be measured against what he did when he agreed to cooperate - a decision he made without an attorney


Public Corruption is indeed a serious wrong. I spent time in the Justice Department and understand the dangers of public corruption. I was arrested by your words - C has way of eroding democracy….” no one can disagree with that. What he did when he was confronted with this, in all cases where corruption is removed, it takes someone inside who can help out.

If prosecutors thought he was the worst, they wouldn’t have made a deal with him.

What got the job done, was not the surveillance and video, it was Mr. Allen’s corruption.

We understand public opinion is very strong, the ADN tells us.

I’m struck what the Federal system means in cases like this. Federal court have always stood as a bulwark against runaway justice. the most difficult task and awesome responsibility a judge can face is to decide a person’s face in the face of strong public sentiment. We ask you to consider this.

Mr. Trusty: Housekeeping, place keeping, my understanding that federal institutions carefully

Judge Sedwick: I’ve never turned down a recommendation to house someone near family

Trusty: Mr. T puts finger on key issue - balancing wildly conflicting interests. I don’t envy the court. I think Mr. Allen can be a very polarizing figure, may be a polarizing person himself.

Picture of man who loves family, supports family. I don’t dispute. Admirable upbringing from hard scrabble to responsible positions.

But has created a swath of harm by Mr. Allen’s corruption. Harmed institutions very visibly and calls for punishment.

Assume truth lies somewhere in between. Not useful in this case. Truth embraces the extremes. It’s really both his generosity and the harm of his corruption. A difficult balance. Reasonable minds can disagree.

Important to acknowledge cooperation to erode guidelines to where they are now. But also conflicting need for punishment because he was the center of the spokes of this wheel of corruption. Whatever word we want to use, corrosive, graft, this was very devastating to Alaska.

I heard a lot about Mr. Allen’s motivation. Something he didn’t intend evil, he was pushing what he thought was good for alaska, but how he pursued it became corrupt. There is some truth - that Mr. allen, in his mind, could justify his corruption.

But bribery requires out and out greed. They trade their honor for a pittance. The birbr the man who hands out the money, decides he wants the profit despite the harm.

[Allen watching closely.]

He made that decision, not as a one time event, but a regular, corrupt process, Years of affecting the political process.

We’re not blind that there was extensive cooperation. The system anticipates the cooperation that takes place. We don’t ignore the governments position. This calculation does not ignore the benefits of that cooperation. Also strikes a balance.

We know that our guideline range is now 33-41 months, Our recommendation was 46 months. May have said “in the vicinity” we think it appropriate, difficult balance. 41 months sentence appropriate.

Ability to pay is clearly in play here. We think the maximum fine of $750K is appropriate - makes a message. Appropriate component to impose that maximum fine.

We believe under all the tangled circumstances of his history and conduct. Imprisonment in 41 months, originally said 46, maximum fine.

Judge Sedwick: Mr. Allen, you have a right to speak:


Bill Allen: I can’t talk fast. I started. . . went to Alaska in 1968, it was good timing, They needed people like me to develop the Cook Inlet. Oil companies wanted me to go in and I did, I went , I was really wanting to do oil pipeline. I didn’t know anything about politics at that time. I could see we weren’t going to get any pipeline.

Boom in North Sea. I went there. 1000 people in platforms, So it came along pretty good. I also had VECO. Hard to take care of VECO here in Alaska and company in North Sea, Tough time doing both. I think we got the oil pipeline about ‘75 and so I started trying to sell my part of the company in the North Sea. I was successful. I took that money back to Alaska and put it on the Slope. I went up there, Done it myself. Took me a year to get all the shops set up. It was successful. So I both the timing was great. When I seen that we were going to produce about 2 million barrels a day. I thought, boy Alaska really needs to make sure that they keep that. I think Prudhoe producing about 2 million, about 20 % of the oil used in the Lower 48. From that Alaska really, good deal for Alaska. Look at all the buildings, libraries, roads. When I come up to Alaska in ‘68, they thought it was great, but some of the media didn’t like oil for some reason. I don’t understand why.

When I got . . and decided if i could help with oil, I hired a lobbyist. He said the best thing I could do is fundraisers for guys who have the same minds I have to protect oil and we have a pretty good tax here. It was really balanced. Anyway those fundraisers, we did a lot of good people, legislators About that time lobbyist and I parted ways and I got more personally involved in the political process. We needed ….. and that is the reason I thought about that time I hired Rick Smith to help with the fund raisers. He’s good at that. A little more than 2 years. Big war between Times and Anchorage Daily News. Had a bigger . . .than I had. . . I had [Anchorage Times] for about 15 years. What they thought - conservative people think When Murkowski was elected. I think he done a good job. Hard headed. Other than that he done a good job. Got the three producers together. Really got together I thought man I can really… All they wanted was clarity on their oil taxes and they would build the natural oil pipeline. And they would put more money in oil - heavy oil big job, West ??/, Almost as much oil as Prudhoe but hard to produce.

So we had a . . . between oil companies and state, They need to be married. It got close. Tried to push it too far, over the line. But I did. When they nailed me in 2006, it was a 30 Aug. 2006. They give me a tape that really embarrassed me. I can’t talk anyway. When they were taping it, hell I could tell I was half drunk. I didn’t like looking at myself.

I made two decisions. I was going to do the right things. I quit drinking. I haven’t had a drop of alcohol since 2006. I’m not an alcoholic, but you do a lot of drinking. Not as good as it should be.

I’d like to apologize to you, to the people here in Alaska. Instead of me really helping them. I pushed them down really. I thought I was. I worked with the govt. 2 years. It was like a job. We probably done five to seven days a week trying to get ready for all these trials. I couldn’t [work?] full time, because of what I had to do to help them. It was hard a lot of people who were my friends. So your honor, I respectfully, go ahead and sentence me. Try to remember I tried.

Judge Sedwick. Thank you Mr. Allen.


The lawyers and some of you in the auditorium who have been at previous trials know I need to consider certain factors.

Congress chose to list:
Par. Nature and circumstances of the defendant - that’s really two factors, here they go in two direction. The effect of corruption on political process affects us all Democracy doesn’t work if corrupt. We can see that around the world. We are blessed in a country where that isn’t true. We enjoy the benefits of a true democracy. Time to time we face corruption. So this is a very serious offense.

The characteristics of the defendant points in another direction. Though not all commendable. His participation in the political campaign work in the 80s show he tried to affect that process.

To affect politics now requires large amounts of money. Large advertising campaigns.

But Mr. Bundy and Mr. T’s comments and letters of support, he is a person who is generous and has done a lot of good in the community, so this factor is difficult to assess. The balance of the offense and characteristics of the defendant.

Some in the guidelines or a little higher are appropriate. Seriousness of the offense requires relatively stiff sentnce. PROMOTION g respect for the law, just. Mr. Allen does have some medical needs.

Defendant isn’t likely to pursue further criminal conduct. He didn’t have much eduction but is very intelligent. Anyone in Allen’s position would think twice bore engaging in the type of activity in which he was engaged. Conspiracy almost always unravels. You are putting your life in the hands of other people, who are by definition are criminals.

2. US Sentencing commission - level 20, category 1 = between 3-4 months, People will compare to Pete Kott and Vic Kohring. Big differences. Mr. Allen has cooperated. Mr. Kohring and Kott had the opportunity to cooperate and they refused. Also refused to take responsibility for their crimes. Not an appropriate comparison.

What Mr. Allen did is very substantial . Rare for government to recommend level less than ½. The only thing that would have made it stronger would have been if there had been threats against his life and family.


In this case, the person at the top of the pyramid who decided to cooperate. There are no real victims, but the people in this room, except perhaps the lawyers for DC. I’m directed by congress to impose a sentence that is no more than necessary.

Mr. T asked me to consider Mr. A’s health.

to achieve all the objectives, cooperation, 3 years of prison is required. Less than that would be insufficient. Greater than that doesn’t take into consideration his cooperation and his personal conditions and the difficulty he will face in prison. The people there are not dangerous, but it is punishment, it is prison. Their daily regimen is directed by others, not them. It is a miserable existence.

The fine. The crime here committed for more than one reason. I don’t doubt that he believes he was doing things for the best interest. But so do the people of opposing views, but they don’t commit crimes. Mr. A did commit a crime and it did involve a lot of money. Hundreds of millions if not billions of dollars for the people of the state. If that money had been left to the oil companies, Mr. A and his company would have gotten some of that money. 10s if not 100s of millions for his company.

If I were able to impose a larger fine I would. The maximum is $750K.

Sentence; 36 months on count 1, 2, 3, to be served consecutively, concurrently.

Probation.

Drug testing is suspended.
Required by statue, collection of DNA sample.
Submit to search of person, vehicle, place of employment on reasonable suspicion of contraband.

Until fine is paid, access to financial records.

Fine of $750K, Interest on fine will not be waived.
No fire arms.

Special assessment of $300

Conditions remain in effect until report to institution. Won’t report until told where to report.

Court advises me I said consecutively I meant concurrently.

In Sheridan, Oregon or Tucson.

In your plea agreement you waived your right to appeal. Normally , not appealable, but if you have some issue, you need to take it up in

Bill J. Allen's Statement in Court

I've just gotten back from the Allen and Smith sentencing. I've got lots of notes, but most is probably up on other sites. But let me post first Allen's statement to the Court. [For the rough, rough transcript I typed at the court of the whole session click here.]

Afterward, the judge sentenced him to three years in prison and $750,000. I'll cover that in detail later.

[NOTE: This was from typing as he spoke in court. While he spoke a lot slower than did the attorneys, he also didn't speak loudly. This is the best I could do. Not every word is here, but I don't think I've distorted what he said enough to change the meaning of the effect.]


Bill Allen: I can’t talk fast. I started. . . went to Alaska in 1968, it was good timing, They needed people like me to develop the Cook Inlet. Oil companies wanted me to go in and I did, I went , I was really wanting to do oil pipeline. I didn’t know anything about politics at that time. I could see we weren’t going to get any pipeline.

Boom in North Sea. I went there. 1000 people in platforms, So it came along pretty good. I also had VECO. Hard to take care of VECO here in Alaska and company in North Sea, Tough time doing both. I think we got the oil pipeline about ‘75 and so I started trying to sell my part of the company in the North Sea. I was successful. I took that money back to Alaska and put it on the Slope. I went up there, Done it myself. Took me a year to get all the shops set up. It was successful. So I both the timing was great. When I seen that we were going to produce about 2 million barrels a day. I thought, boy Alaska really needs to make sure that they keep that. I think Prudhoe producing about 2 million, about 20 % of the oil used in the Lower 48. From that Alaska really, good deal for Alaska. Look at all the buildings, libraries, roads. When I come up to Alaska in ‘68, they thought it was great, but some of the media didn’t like oil for some reason. I don’t understand why.

When I got . . and decided if i could help with oil, I hired a lobbyist. He said the best thing I could do is fundraisers for guys who have the same minds I have to protect oil and we have a pretty good tax here. It was really balanced. Anyway those fundraisers, we did a lot of good people, legislators About that time lobbyist and I parted ways and I got more personally involved in the political process. We needed ….. and that is the reason I thought about that time I hired Rick Smith to help with the fund raisers. He’s good at that. A little more than 2 years. Big war between Times and Anchorage Daily News. Had a bigger . . .than I had. . . I had [Anchorage Times] for about 15 years. What they thought - conservative people think When Murkowski was elected. I think he done a good job. Hard headed. Other than that he done a good job. Got the three producers together. Really got together I thought man I can really… All they wanted was clarity on their oil taxes and they would build the natural oil pipeline. And they would put more money in oil - heavy oil big job, West ??/, Almost as much oil as Prudhoe but hard to produce.

So we had a . . . between oil companies and state, They need to be married. It got close. Tried to push it too far, over the line. But I did. When they nailed me in 2006, it was a 30 Aug. 2006. They give me a tape that really embarrassed me. I can’t talk anyway. When they were taping it, hell I could tell I was half drunk. I didn’t like looking at myself.

I made two decisions. I was going to do the right things. I quit drinking. I haven’t had a drop of alcohol since 2006. I’m not an alcoholic, but you do a lot of drinking. Not as good as it should be.

I’d like to apologize to you, to the people here in Alaska. Instead of me really helping them. I pushed them down really. I thought I was. I worked with the govt. 2 years. It was like a job. We probably done five to seven days a week trying to get ready for all these trials. I couldn’t [work?] full time, because of what I had to do to help them. It was hard a lot of people who were my friends. So your honor, I respectfully, go ahead and sentence me. Try to remember I tried.


[To get earlier glimpses of Bill Allen in court, you can look at my posts on the Pete Kott Trial. There are quite a few posts and I think Day 6 was Allen's first appearance. So you'll have to scroll back a few pages to get there. Or go directly to Day 6.]