May 15, 1989 Mr. David E. Stevens Director of Taxation American Continental Corporation P.O. Box 29099 Phoenix, Az. 85038 Dear Mr. Stevens: Recently I asked my staff, before they archived old records, to make sure that there were no unpaid bills in those records. During that process, my staff discovered correspondence about travel I took on American Continental's aircraft, but they could find no cancelled checks or other documented evidence that such travel had been paid for. In following up with your office, my staff was able to obtain from you a list of flights I took on your aircraft. It has always been my policy and directive to my staff to promptly reimburse for such travel. I thought all this travel had been paid for, but I don't have the documentary evidence that this occurred. I deeply regret that this policy apparently had not been complied with in every instance. I also appreciate your prompt assistance in identifying for my staff all such travel in question. I have enclosed checks in the amount of $1,794.14 and $7,884.32 to provide full payment for all travel that Cindy, my family, and I took on American Continental Aircraft during 1984 and 1985. Again, I regret any previous nonpayment. I was never aware that this situation existed, and I am embarrassed that apparently it did. If your records show that any of these flights were in fact already paid for, please either return that amount or I can have a new check drawn. Please accept my apologies, and please let my Senate office know immediately if you ever encounter any other question in this regard. One Thousand Seven Hundred Ninety Four and 14/100 :1221000241: 1060-0433-83160 DOLLARS PAY TO THE ORDER OF American Continental Corporation Seven Thousand Eight Hundred Eighty Four and 32/100 David E. Stevens 4420 N. Creswell pl. Boise, Idaho 83704-2476 November 16, 1990 Honorable Senator Dennis DeConcini United States Senate Washington, D. C. 20510 Dear Senator DeConcini: I am writing to express my support as you undergo the travesty which is being labeled as a Senate Ethics Committee hearing. I feel that you have been unfairly singled out and chastised for doing nothing more than what you felt your duty was. I have followed this situation with some interest, and my conclusion is that your involvement in the Keating situation was nothing more than performing the duties that Americans have a right to expect from our elected officials. I am especially concerned with the uneven treatment given to you and to Senator McCain. In making this statement, I feel it appropriate to point out that I am a registered Republican who voted for you in the last election because I felt that your opponent was unqualified. I would be more likely to support Senator McCain politically than I would you. However, I feel that in this instance, your actions were no less culpable than Senator McCain's, while at the same time being far more courageous. I feel that you properly challenged Regulators without being abrasive, overbearing, or disrespectful. If this investigation encourages our elected representatives to do any less, then America will be in sad shape. Regulators should never be immune from an appropriate challenge, even though I'm sure it bothers them greatly. I have read Bill Black's "transcript" of the meeting several times. First of all, I don't know how he was able to make such a detailed transcript while actively participating in a meeting. Setting that aside, one would expect that his transcript would be skewed against you. Even with that background, I can't see where you made any improper statements in the meeting as detailed by Mr. Black's transcript. True, you questioned the Regulators and tried to reason with them, but there is nothing wrong with that. On the other hand, Senator McCain reportedly broke relations with Mr. Keating early in 1987. I respect his decision to do so, but I don't think that he made the clean break that would be expected with that decision. His attending the meetings was not inconsistent with that decision, in my view. I do wonder why it took so long for him to come clean with respect to the airplane flights and vacations. SPECIAL COUNSEL -2 I am enclosing a letter that I sent to some members of the Senate Ethics Committee which discusses my involvement with the McCain family airplane flights. To date, I've heard nothing in response to the letter. I guess they don't view this as being very important. I thought you might be interested in it. If Senator McCain had made the "clean break" he claimed to have made in 1987, it seems that the reimbursements should have come much sooner. I feel that your actions were entirely consistent with your statement that you were acting in your capacity as a Senator rendering constituent service to a significant employer. The Arizona economy has been tremendously hurt as a result of improper handling of the S&L crisis. As I see it, you were trying to prevent that. My own situation is representative of what happened to Arizona. I am a native Arizonan who would have preferred to remain in Arizona. Not only was it inevitable that I would eventually lose my job at ACC (I left in June of 1990), but it was also apparent that my employment prospects were better outside of Arizona. The economic downturn and adverse publicity made it very difficult to find work in my profession. I sold my Arizona home at a tremendous loss due to a sagging real estate market caused in large part by the actions of Federal Regulators who didn't seem to care what they were doing to the Arizona economy. Once again, I'd like to express my support to you as you undergo this ordeal. Hopefully, the Federal Government will eventually focus its energy on actually dealing with the S&L crisis and minimizing taxpayer losses rather than engaging in costly and fruitless efforts to find scapegoats to hold up to public ridicule. Finding scapegoats creates a spectacle but doesn't solve anything. Sincerely, Dan Men David E. Stevens Senator John McCain WASHINGTON, D.C. 20510 June 30, 1989 Mr. David E. Stevens Director of Taxation American Continental Corporation P.O. Box 29099 Phoenix, Arizona 85038 Dear Mr. Stevens: In a careful review of travel made by me and my family, staff has compiled a list of flights taken on American Continental aircraft, or paid for by the American Continental Corporation, which should have been paid for by me. My policy has always been to reimburse promptly for such travel, and I regret this oversight. This travel is in addition to those flights you identified for me in your letter of May 12, 1989, and for which we have fully reimbursed American Continental. I have enclosed payment of $2,415.00 for flights taken by ne, Cindy and a babysitter on Chalks International Airlines from Miami, Florida to the Bahamas, chartered helicopter flights for me to and from the same, and $1,339.60 for a flight taken by Cindy and a babysitter on American Continental aircraft in 1985 from Washington, D.C. to Phoenix. I have attached a neno delineating the costs (estimated at the cost of a first class flight) and approximate dates of this travel. Again, I regret this oversight and any inconvenience this may have caused. Please contact me if you need anything else, or if any additional information comes to light regarding necessary reimbursement for travel on American Continental aircraft. you once more for your attention to this matter. Thank JM/VC SPECIAL COUNSEL NOT PRINTED AT GOVERNMENT EXPENSE |