Suite 604 of the Baranof Hotel in Alaska's capital city, Juneau: Grainy video captures state legislators drinking with executives of VECO Corporation, the state's largest oil-field service company. Then money changes hands. The corruption of Alaskan politics had long been suspected, but the FBI's hidden camera proved it. Last May, VECO's two top executives pleaded guilty to bribing legislators to pass a favorable oil-tax law. The unfolding scandal has tarred the state's entire congressional delegation, including Senator Ted Stevens (R)—a relentless proponent of opening the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil drilling.
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