Sep 25, 2007 5:59 pm US/Pacific
Ex-Alaska Lawmaker Convicted In Bribery Case
Accused Of Peddling Influence To Energy Company
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) ―
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Former Rep. Pete Kott was convicted Tuesday Sept. 25, 2007, of trading his legislative influence for bribes from a company that was seeking to profit from a proposed natural gas pipeline.
akrepublicans.org
A former state legislator was convicted Tuesday of trading his legislative influence for bribes from a company that was seeking to profit from a proposed natural gas pipeline.
Former Rep. Pete Kott, a Republican who was House speaker for part of his 14-year tenure, was found guilty of accepting nearly $9,000, a political poll and the promise of a job from VECO Corp., an oil field services company.
Kott was convicted of conspiracy to solicit financial benefits, extortion and bribery but was acquitted of wire fraud. He did not comment as he walked away from the federal courthouse.
The two-week trial included testimony by VECO chief Bill Allen that he doled out more than $400,000 in bribes to various officials and had company workers remodel the home of Sen. Ted Stevens, who is under federal investigation.
The FBI in July raided the home of Stevens, who has said he paid all bills he received for the remodeling project.
Allen and a company vice president, Rick Smith, have pleaded guilty to bribing Kott and other lawmakers. VECO stood to make millions in contracts if the state Legislature approved a revised crude oil tax that encouraged investment.
The tax was seen as needed before major petroleum companies would commit to participating in construction of a pipeline tapping Alaska's vast natural gas reserves on the North Slope and carrying it to the Midwest. That project, which state officials still hope will happen, would cost an estimated $20 billion to $30 billion.
The government's case against Kott was based on wiretaps of three phones belonging to Allen and Smith, plus video recordings made by a camera that the FBI placed in a hotel room in Juneau rented by VECO during the 2006 legislative session.
The recordings show Kott, Allen and Smith discussing legislative strategy, often in sessions fueled by alcohol and laden with profanity.
Kott's attorney, Jim Wendt, contended that claims Kott made of his influence on behalf of VECO were merely drunken boasts and that his voting record contradicted claims that he had sold out constituents in favor of VECO.
Juror Susan Pollard said Kott's testimony in court that he lied to his friends hurt his credibility.
She also said an explanation from Kott, his son and his girlfriend about a $7,993 payment made to the family hardwood flooring business did not match the evidence.
Kott claimed the payment was for future work at the homes of Allen and Smith. Allen and Smith said the money was a bribe paid to Kott so the lawmaker could hire his own son for his re-election campaign in 2006.
Jurors said they reached a conclusion relatively quickly on the three guilty verdicts but struggled over the wire fraud charge. That count was based on a single phone call Kott made to Smith from Washington, D.C., while on legislative business.
In the phone call, Kott sought the phone number of a lobbyist and ended up speaking about official business. Prosecutors said the call was part of a conspiracy.
(© 2009 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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