Police: Feds won't try Bill Allen in sex case

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Bill Allen, the former CEO of oilfield services company VECO, was the central figure behind the political corruption cases in Alaska -- but his credibility was questioned because of allegations of sex crimes involving teenage girls. On Friday, the U.S. Department of Justice decided to not pursue those charges against Allen.

Allen was the government's star witness, taking down state lawmakers accused of corruption and even testifying at then-Sen. Ted Stevens’ trial -- but the decision not to prosecute him is causing major disappointment at the Anchorage Police Department.

“The first case occurred in 2004,” said APD spokesperson Lt. Dave Parker. “There were some difficulties in doing the investigation, and as I understand it, from reading the report Det. Vandergriff was basically asked to stop investigating it by the U.S. Attorney’s office so that they could prosecute the politicians that were under investigation.”

According to the allegations, from 1994 to 2000 Allen had sex with multiple underage girls, flying one to Anchorage for sex. It was that case that prompted the Justice Department to assign a special prosecutor.

“You invest a lot when you investigate a case and if you bring a case forward and you believe that it has merit to be prosecuted of course, you're disappointed when it doesn't get prosecuted,” Parker said. “But at the same time, we're professionals, we go on, we have other cases that we need to deal with and we don't understand the internal workings of the prosecution teams, their decision-making process.”

Former lawmaker Pete Kott's attorney, Sheryl McCloud -- who brought up the allen allegations last year -- says the information could have discredited Allen during her client's trail.

“I don't know why they aren't pursuing it, but I'd love to know because I wonder if it has anything to do with the deal that they made with Bill Allen earlier,” McCloud said.

“The judgment of the prosecutors not to seek criminal charges against Mr. Allen speaks for itself,” said Allen’s attorney, Bob Bundy. “We are gratified to learn that professionals at the Department of Justice, after carefully reviewing all the various allegations over several years, have decided that charges against Mr. Allen are unwarranted.”

Allen is serving three years for bribery and tax violations at a low-security prison. He is due for release in 2012.

Contact Rebecca Palsha at rpalsha@ktuu.com