Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, facing a seven-count federal indictment charging that he failed to disclose thousands of dollars in services he received from a company that helped renovate his home, denied wrongdoing on Tuesday.

GOP Senator Indicted

"I have proudly served this nation and Alaska for over 50 years. My public service began when I served in World War II. It saddens me to learn that these charges have been brought against me. I have never knowingly submitted a false disclosure form required by law as a U.S. senator."

The longest-serving Republican senator and a major figure in Alaska politics since before statehood, Stevens, 86, has been dogged by a federal investigation into his home renovation project in Alaska and whether he pushed for fishing legislation that also benefited his son, an Alaska lobbyist.

Prosecutors alleged that for a number of years, Stevens concealed what they called "his continuing receipt of hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of things of value from a private corporation," --oil services company VECO Corp. -- including improvements to his vacation home in Alaska.

Prosecutors said that work included a new first floor, garage, wraparound deck, plumbing and electrical wiring. He also is accused of accepting from VECO a Viking gas grill, furniture and tools, and of failing to report swapping an old Ford for a new Land Rover to be driven by one of his children.

Acting Assistant Attorney General Matthew Friedrich said Stevens received more than $250,000 in gifts and services from VECO.

At the time, the indictment alleges, Allen and other company employees were soliciting Stevens for "multiple official actions" knowing that Stevens could and did use his official position and his office on behalf of the company.

Stevens was appointed to the U.S. Senate in 1968 and is up for re-election this year.

Stevens serves as the Senate's President Pro Tempore Emeritus; vice chairman of the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation; co-chairman of the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee; and ranking member of the Disaster Recovery Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Subcommittee.

His indictment further damages Republican prospects in the November election as Senate Democrats, who now enjoy a 51-49 majority, try to capture a filibuster-proof 60-vote majority.

If convicted, Stevens could face up to five years in prison for each of the seven counts.