WASHINGTON, Dec. 16 (UPI) -- Federal prosecutors say former Alaska state Sen. Jerry Ward was responsible for changes in the story of a witness against convicted U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens.
In a court filing Monday, Ward is identified only as "Family Member A," the Anchorage Daily News reported. The filing is the U.S. Justice Department's response to a motion by Stevens' attorneys for a hearing on the testimony by Dave Anderson, a former employee of the defunct oil services company Veco.
Stevens, an 85-year-old Republican, was convicted of failing to report gifts from a Veco executive on his financial disclosure forms, including work done by Anderson on his vacation home in Girdwood, Alaska.
Anderson, a nephew of Veco President Bill Allen, is now living with Ward's daughter, the newspaper said.
Federal prosecutors said Ward convinced Anderson to make false claims about having negotiated an immunity deal as part of a scheme to avoid prosecution himself. Stevens' lawyers asked for the hearing to question Anderson about the supposed deal.
The prosecutors said Anderson told the truth on the witness stand.
