FBI and IRS agents have raided the home of Sen. Ted Stevens (R-AK). The 83-year-old Stevens is the longest-serving Republican in the Senate’s history and considered one of the most powerful Republicans on Capitol Hill. He served as chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee for six years. The raid is connected to a widespread corruption probe surrounding the Alaskan-based oil pipeline service company Veco Corporation. Last August, the FBI and IRS raided the offices of several Alaskan state lawmakers including Senator Stevens’ son, state Senate President Ben Stevens. In May, three current and former state lawmakers were arrested on bribery charges. Three days later, Veco’s CEO Bill Allen and the company’s vice president pleaded guilty of extortion, bribery and conspiracy to impede the Internal Revenue Service. Allen had been one of Senator Stevens’s closest political allies. Contractors have told a federal grand jury that in 2000, Veco executives including Allen oversaw a lavish remodeling of Stevens’s home. Since then, Veco has received more than $30 million in federal contracts. The Wall Street Journal reported last week that Alaska’s sole congressman, Republican Don Young, is also being investigated as part of the Veco criminal inquiry.