ANCHORAGE, Alaska - Sen. Ted Stevens of Alaska dismissed calls Friday from activist groups that he resign as chairman of the Appropriations Committee and disputed a newspaper report that said he used his powerful position to enrich himself and others.

"If they think I am going to resign because of a story in a newspaper, they're crazy," he said at a news conference here.

Stevens, a Republican who has been in the Senate nearly 35 years, said he had done nothing illegal, immoral or unethical.

The Los Angeles Times reported Wednesday that the senator has grown wealthy from investments with people who benefited from legislation he helped write.

Stevens, 80, said he's been a senator so long that it would be hard to find any Alaska investment that people wouldn't see as a conflict.

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