Will corruption investigations in Alaska continue to move forward? Or has Uncle Ted's "victory" scared justice into hiding?

Does the mess that befell the prosecution of Sen. Ted Stevens create such a cloud over the long-running Alaska corruption investigation that it's all but over?

That's a question heard with some frequency since April, when the Stevens case was thrown out and the FBI agents and Justice Department prosecutors who were part of the broader Alaska corruption inquiry were themselves put under investigation.

The Justice Department continues to say the investigation is moving forward, though as recently as last week a spokeswoman would provide no details. Aside from assigning new prosecutors to its only Alaska case awaiting trial, the department has not demonstrated much activity in public. Before the Stevens case was dismissed, its record in the corruption prosecutions was a perfect 11-for-11.

Most legal experts who discussed the situation said that the team involved in the Alaska cases since the investigation became public in 2006 has been so tainted that they will be unable to play a significant role in any other case arising from the investigation.

But neither that restriction, nor the embarrassment and demoralization from such a public failure, is reason to stop now, said Ken Boehm, chairman of the National Legal and Policy Center in Washington, D.C., a conservative-leaning watchdog group.

"I can see they're a little singed around the edges, but at the same time, they all take the oath to pursue the evidence of crime wherever it leads, and they do have a duty to the public to the degree that there's people out there that are selling their office in one way or another -- they owe it to the public to follow up," Boehm said.

Vic Koehring, Pete Kott, John Cowdery, Beverly Masek, Tom Anderson, the list of corrupt Alaskan politicians convicted thus far is sobering to say the least, but Alaskans know full well that not all of the villains have been brought to justice yet.

The very fact that the FBI had to come in and do the job that our own state investigators were too timid, or corrupt, to do themselves brings shame to our state, but allowing this housecleaning to end before ALL of the corruption has been expunged is inexcusable.

Ted Stevens was NOT found innocent. The fact that his conviction was thrown out had nothing to do with anything except the incompetence of the prosecutors who brought his case to trial. Ted Stevens has many reasons to face justice, but with him out of the Senate he is yesterday's news.

Today's news is his son Ben Stevens and of course Don Young.

Once these two have been convicted I will feel that justice has finally been served in Alaska.

Ben Stevens was paid hundreds of thousands of dollars in "consulting fees", which we all know was a bribe from VECO to get certain laws passed and others suppressed.

And as for Don Young? Well I don't know of any single Alaskan who is not convinced that Rep. Young is guilty of a variety of criminal activities and his million dollar legal bill can attest to that fact as well, even though we are not yet certain what he paid all of that money to fight.

So here is what I suggest. Perhaps the FBI believes that Alaskans have lost the will to see any more of their lawmakers brought to justice. Maybe they feel that after what happened with Ted Stevens that we have lost confidence in them. Well in my opinion nothing could be further from the truth. I have great confidence in the FBI and blame the Stevens screw up on the Bush Justice Department.

So I am going to e-mail the FBI and ask them to please continue ferreting out corruption in Alaska. I want them to keep pursuing justice in our name, and to bring Ben Stevens and Don Young to trial just as soon as they possibly can. And hey, if you find some corrupt Democrats during your investigation, then bust their ass as well. I am certainly not partisan when it comes to ridding my state of criminal activities.

If you would like to e-mail the Alaska Federal Bureau of Investigation as well here is their e-mail address: anchoragefbi@ak.net.

And even though this is not a post about Sarah Palin, I have to admit I have also talked to an agent about investigating some of the strange happenings around her as well. If any of you are so inclined the FBI might also benefit from hearing your concerns on THAT matter also. I am just saying.