WASHINGTON -- U.S. Sen. Daniel K. Inouye is sticking by his longtime friend, U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens of Alaska, who was indicted today for concealing receipt of more than $250,000 in benefits from an oil services company and its chief executive.

Democrat Inouye and Stevens, a Republican, have been close friends for almost four decades as they fought to gain acceptance for their then-new states and later direct billion of dollars in special projects to them.

"In our legal system, a man is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law," Inouye said. "That is fundamental in our democracy."

Stevens was indicted today on seven counts of making false statements on his annual financial disclosure forms to conceal benefits he received from VECO Corp. and its executives from 1999 to 2007.

The benefits included home improvements, furniture and tools.

Stevens and Inouye frequently help each other with legislation. Inouye is one of the few Democrats to support drilling in Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and Stevens is among the handful of Republicans supporting the Native Hawaiian federal recognition bill.

U.S. Sen. Daniel K. Akaka, D-Hawai`i, author of the Native Hawaiian bill, said he was "sorry to hear about" Stevens' indictment.

Both Inouye, 83, and Stevens, 84, wield a lot of clout in the Senate. Both are senior members of the Senate Appropriations Committee -- Stevens, the top Republican, and Inouye, a subcommittee chairman -- as well as senior members of the Senate Commerce Committee, which Inouye chairs and Stevens is vice-chairman.

Both served in World War II with Inouye receiving the Medal of Honor and Stevens, a Distinguished Flying Cross.

The two are a dynamic duo in coming up with federal money for their states and are frequently criticized for it.

For example, Citizens Against Government Waste, a taxpayer watchdog group, has ranked Alaska and Hawai'i in seven of the past eight years as the top two states per capita for special projects money, also known as earmarks.

In 2008, for example, Alaska received $380 million, or $555.54 per person, and Hawai`i received $283 million, or $220.63 per person.

After such a close friendship for so long, the indictment hasn't changed how Inouye feels about Stevens. "As far as I am concerned, Ted Stevens remains my friend," Inouye said. "I believe in him."

Advertiser staff writer Derrick DePledge contributed to this report.