Alaska Verdict Has Wider Implications

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A former state legislator's conviction for taking bribes from an oil services firm has wider implications: the FBI is investigating whether Ted Stevens, the U.S. Senate's longest-serving Republican, also received illegal gifts from the same company.

Former Rep. Pete Kott, a Republican who was House speaker for part of his 14-year tenure, was convicted Tuesday of conspiracy to solicit financial benefits, extortion and bribery, but was acquitted of wire fraud. He did not comment as he left the federal courthouse.

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) -- A former state legislator's conviction for taking bribes from an oil services firm has wider implications: the FBI is investigating whether Ted Stevens, the U.S. Senate's longest-serving Republican, also received illegal gifts from the same company.

Former Rep. Pete Kott, a Republican who was House speaker for part of his 14-year tenure, was convicted Tuesday of conspiracy to solicit financial benefits, extortion and bribery, but was acquitted of wire fraud. He did not comment as he left the federal courthouse.

The two-week trial included testimony by VECO Corp. chief Bill Allen that he doled out more than $400,000 in bribes to various officials and had company workers remodel the Stevens' home.

Stevens has not been charged and has said he paid all the bills he received for the remodeling project. Stevens' office had no comment Tuesday on the Kott verdict.

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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 Legislature passed the tax.

Gov. Sarah Palin, a Republican who has urged Stevens to better explain his connections to Allen, issued a news release commending the jurors for their "careful consideration" of the evidence.

"I was shocked by some of the revelations that came out in the trial, and I can understand why many Alaskans feel betrayed," she said.

Palin called again for another look at the revised crude oil tax approved by the legislature when Kott and other lawmakers were being investigated.

"I am more committed than ever to seeking a fair, untainted solution to our petroleum tax system," she said, again calling for another look at the revised crude oil tax.

Advocates of the tax said it was needed to make major petroleum companies commit to helping build a pipeline. It was to tap Alaska's vast natural gas reserves on the North Slope and ship them to the Midwest.

The project, which state officials still support, 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 the FBI secretly obtained from 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.

Federal prosecutors say the seven-term former lawmaker from Eagle River, north of Anchorage, accepted nearly $9,000, including a $7,993 check that he used to pay his son to work as his campaign manager. The company also paid for a poll at a cost of a $2,750, prosecutors said.

Also, prosecutors said, VECO promised Kott a job after he left office in exchange for his support of their political agenda.

Kott faces up to 20 years in prison on the extortion charge, up to 10 years on the bribery charge and up to five years on the conspiracy charge, said Department of Justice spokesman Bryan Sierra. Sentencing was set for Dec. 7 by U.S. District Judge John Sedwick, who allowed Kott to remain free until then.

"This verdict is an important victory for the people of Alaska, who deserve to expect honest, ethical representation from their elected officials," Assistant Attorney General Alice S. Fisher said.

Stevens has served since 1968 and is Alaska's most powerful elected official, responsible for bringing home billions in federal dollars in a state short on infrastructure, from roads to basic sewer and water systems in remote villages. Anchorage's international airport is named for Stevens, and he has faced only token opposition in recent elections.

Last year, FBI raids on the offices of several Alaska lawmakers included Stevens and his son, former Alaska Senate President Ben Stevens. The younger Stevens also has not been charged.