Facing prison, Kohring blames government but says his conscience is clear
Published Thursday, May 8, 2008
ANCHORAGE -- Facing a prison sentence of 3 1/2 years, a former Alaska lawmaker said he's broke and has lost respect for the U.S. government, but that his conscience is clear.
Former state Rep. Vic Kohring was sentenced Thursday for bribery and two other felony corruption charges, convictions he blamed on prosecutors who twisted his words and a judge with a conflict of interest.
"I refuse to cower before you in hopes of receiving a lighter sentence," he told U.S. District Court Judge John Sedwick.
The seven-term Republican from Wasilla said he had to borrow a truck to drive to the courthouse and it broke down on the way. He hitchhiked and was picked up by a loyal constituent who immediately put him on his church's prayer chain, Kohring said.
Kohring was convicted in November of accepting at least $2,600 from executives of VECO Corp., an Alaska company with more than 4,000 employees that provided engineering, construction and facility maintenance services to major oil producers. Its officers also carried enormous political clout, sponsoring fundraisers and donating to candidates.
Kohring was the third Alaska Republican lawmaker with ties to VECO convicted last year of bribery charges. The FBI also is investigating remodeling work that VECO employees did at the home of U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens, the longest serving Republican in Senate history. Stevens has said he paid all bills presented to him.
Stevens' son, Ben, was paid consulting fees of nearly a quarter-million dollars by VECO and only worked on legislative business on behalf of the company, a company official testified. He has not been charged.
VECO CEO Bill Allen and a company vice president, Rick Smith, said they bribed Alaska lawmakers to procure legislation, including a favorable tax rate, that would lead to the construction of a massive natural gas pipeline project delivering North Slope reserves to customers in the Midwest.
The project would have been a gold mine for an oil field service company such as VECO and, Allen said in court, a boon to the Alaska economy for decades.
Prosecutors contend Kohring played on Allen's generosity and desire for a reliable vote in the state House by pleading poverty. They said Kohring used Allen as a "human ATM," tapping him for handouts of $600 to $700 at a time.
Allen testified he first gave Kohring cash in 2002 when the lawmaker told him he was sleeping in his legislative office and that he was short on money for food. Over the next three years, Allen said, he gave cash to Kohring three or four times. He felt sorry for the lawmaker but also wanted to "make sure he was loyal," he said.
One such transaction was caught on video by FBI agents who hid a camera in a hotel room rented by VECO in Juneau, Alaska's capital, in March 2006. Allen handed over $100 to Kohring for his stepdaughter's Easter egg hunt, then gave Kohring an additional $600 he said could help pay for her Girl Scout uniform.
Prosecutors pushed to have Kohring sentenced for requesting a $17,000 loan from Allen and for securing a paid VECO internship for his nephew.
Kohring acknowledged Thursday only that he had been naive.
"I should not have taken the gifts even though they were from a longtime friend," he said.
Sedwick last month rejected Kohring's claims that the judge's rulings were biased. Sedwick called Kohring's allegations inaccurate, misleading and unsubstantiated.
Kohring claims he did not realize until near the end of his trial that the judge was connected to "one of my biggest personal and political enemies," the judge's wife, Deborah Sedwick, who showed up for closing arguments.
Deborah Sedwick was commissioner of Community and Regional Affairs under former Gov. Tony Knowles, a Democrat. Kohring claimed Deborah Sedwick lost her job because of legislation he sponsored to merge her department with another. However, Knowles ended up appointing her commissioner of the merged departments.
Kohring said unfavorable rulings made by Judge Sedwick could have been tied to his antagonistic relationship with Deborah Sedwick.
"Was there a payback here? I'm always going to wonder that," he said.
Kohring also wanted Sedwick off the case because he lives across the street from Allen and because he attended high school with Smith.
Kohring's attorney, John Henry Browne of Seattle, said Kohring's appeal would start with the judge's refusal to disqualify himself.
"If a juror had said, 'I live next door to Bill Allen,' that juror would not sit on the case. If a juror had said, 'Oh, Mr. Kohring went after my wife and tried to destroy her department and cut back her budget,' that juror would not be allowed to sit on this case. That judge had an obligation to tell us of those things. He did not. That was wrong, and he will be reversed, period."
Sedwick refused to let Kohring supporters testify on the lawmaker's "mantra" — parting words he said to nearly everyone he encountered, including Allen: "Let me know what I can do to help; my door is always open to you; feel free to call me anytime."
"It's really ironic that these very words have now been used against me by the government to erroneously claim they represented a bribe," Kohring said.
Prosecutors asked for a sentence of five years, rejecting Browne's contention that Kohring's behavior was an aberration and that he could be compared to a lovable small-town sheriff on the old television sitcom, "The Andy Griffith Show." Kohring accepted bribes over four years, said assistant U.S. attorney Joe Bottini.
"I don't remember any episodes of that show where Andy Griffith took cash," Bottini said.
Sedwick ordered Kohring to turn himself in to the federal Bureau of Prisons by June 30.
Comments
Mental note: Big money in politics creates and spells C-O-R-R-U-P-T-I-O-N. Keep big money out of politics people.
What's sad, and even more so pathetic about Kohring is that he continued to think he was not guilty through all of this.
A big shambling puppy dog who will now get his chain yanked, just like he was jerking the rest of us around to the tune of billions while lying on the altar of all that is "conservative".
Next Vic will probably try to tell us that his middle name is Tim.
Get it? Vic Tim?
SO many crooked bastards, so little time, 3 1/2 years. Any guess as to how much the state has lost over the years by sellout legislators like Kohring that have already come and gone? They've cost us billions. I hope Kohring enjoys the view as he travels down the old dirt road that his jail house experience is sure to provide.
I'd have to see it to believe it. Wait I did see it.....
by alaskamountainman:
There's A Message Being Sent.....
.......and it says in big letters, "YOU"RE OUTTA HERE VIC"! Lest some on this forum not know it, Vic was found guilty by a jury of his peers, not the judge. His was convicted due to his corrupt behavior and proof thereof. I find his statement to the court laughable and contemptible in light of the overwhelming evidence presented at trial.
What is it with some people (mainly public figures) that just can't (won't) EVER admit they were wrong (guilty) about something (anything) they do (did), and just say "I'm sorry"? I guess it's just an ingrained trait to only project perfection instead.
Goodbye Vic. Maybe we can get together for that chat over coffee in a few years. No hard feelings big guy.
all I can say is ewwww!
All those filthy Alaska politicians who have sold out the people they were elected to represent- add Kohring to the list.
The large multinational corporations have made billions at our expense because they can buy the support they need. They've bought members of the executive branch- and numerous legislators. They've bought editorial support from various newspapers, and talk radio loud mouths- like Dan Fagin.
Jail is too good for these traitors.
Say hello to the Hayes for me
Did any of you "quick to judge" types happen to notice that we're talking about an alleged $2600 bribe here. Does that make sense to you, considering the stakes? If I'm in the legislature (God forbid), and I'm crooked as a dog's leg, I'm getting a hell of a lot more than $2600.
The judge was in the circle of the case's evidence and advocates. I'm just a layman, but I kind of think that a judge can alter a jury's mindset.
Maybe Kohring has a good case for appeal. Sounds like it to me...
I agree with glacierles. Vic has displayed the worst type of trust, by using his office for self promotion. I agree with the other posts, saying so-long Vic, don't call us we'll call you.
If the Judge was prejudiced or biased, its all been for naught and has been a waste of time and money. More Corruption???
Judge isn't corrupt; Kohring is. HE IS ON TAPE!!!
Vic lives in a fantasy world. Unfortunately, his chickens are coming home to roost.
He has to quit blaming others for HIS actions.
Funny, the deal with Debby didn't come up until AFTER he was found guilty.
Funny, the deal with living nearby or going to high school (back in the DARK AGES) didn't come up until AFTER he was found guilty.
Funny, what a 'little conviction' can do to a person, isn't it?
Unfunny, what he has done to our trust and respect.
realdeal---
What???
One side or the other, please.
palmerbuyer---
$2600???
Rule of law in very corrupt, high stakes times.
Just a little bit pregnant.
Equivocation.
When former Crown Prince Ben the Enabler shows up in the docket you'll see how little big men like Vic "were just going along" with the predominant corrupt culture as laid down by previous legislators just "gettin 'er done".
Sure, just $2600 bucks.
Start adding zero's to that one at a time, each time someone wants to be your "friend" and slowly ups the ante to the point where you are perpetually obligated to keep your living standards up by those "altruistic" sources.
You people making excuses for Vic, the Hayes's and the rest to follow seem only to be making excuses for your own deeds when you appear to be rationalizing in these pages.
That's exactly why it became a culture of corruption.
Ok, here is what is happening. These people believe what they did was for the better good. They believe they are on the right side. You are going to see this over the next couple years as the corruption and illigal operations begin to be exposed on not just the state levels but federal too.
You will continue to see people saying..."$2600???"
That is why it is called a "Culture of Corruption". It is not just the people who are committing these crimes that dont see what is wrong with it. It is their followers too that will be blind to it. They think they are right people...plain, simple and sad.
YouMustBConfused
That's right.
And for "the rest of the story," go to
www.alaskareport.com
Click at the top on the Corrupt B's Club and scroll down. There's the players as far as we know.
Wish the deals re Ben and daddy-o would make the news more often.
Ben should go down, along with his daddy.
Somehow I don't think it'll happen.
"That's right" comment was directed at Copper_River_Red!
The accusation is so serious, that he must be guilty. Forget the justice system, we'll just hang any politician that is accused. Why waste money on stupid things like trials and appeals?
And anybody that thinks different than that must also be guilty of corruption and thievery. Right...
glacierles...you did watch the video...right?
glacieries,
Investigation, evidence, indictment, trial, jury of peers, verdict and now appeal based only on Vic's ongoing denial that his life is a not so carefully constructed series of delusions.
All the attention on $2600 that ended up in Vic's hands, what and how much did Vic give away with the other? $2600 is the tip of the iceberg with the rest hidden just below the sight line. Give it time, give it time.
Corrine,
I have it from the top that this silence regarding the Benster is a very ominous silence for him.
Solid word has more agents on this case than any other corruption case in U.S. history so don't you fret.
We don't have the court space for what's coming.
Low hanging fruit gets picked first.
Have a nice spring day.
Post a comment
Commenting requires registration.