Alaska lawmaker convicted of corruption

[Eugene]

Source: Associated Press

Alaska lawmaker convicted of corruption

By Dan Joling
ASSOCIATED PRESS

4:17 p.m. September 25, 2007

ANCHORAGE, Alaska – A former Alaska lawmaker was
convicted Tuesday of corruption charges.

Pete Kott, who represented Eagle River on Anchorage's
north side for 14 years, including two as Speaker of
the House, was convicted of conspiracy to solicit
financial benefits, extortion and bribery. The jury
acquitted him of wire fraud.

Kott was charged with accepting nearly $9,000, a
political poll and the promise of a job from VECO Corp.,
a major Alaska oil field services company that stood to
make millions if the Alaska Legislature approved a
revised crude oil tax that encouraged investment.

-snip-

Read more: http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/nation/20070925-1617-wst-corruptiontrial.html

[maddezmom]

1. lots of bad guys up there lately

:D

[Cha]

2. Yeah, another repuke bites

the corrupt dust.

[Nickster]

3. Notice the lack of the word Republican in that article? Funny how that always happens.

[kath]

4. yeah, I just noticed the same thing. The paper very conveniently failed to mention his party

affiliation.

[Phoebe Loosinhouse]

5. I'm going to venture a political theory here - small populations engender corruption

Having lived in Rhode Island, a veritable smorgasbord of political corruption ( although, strangely- still a small, wonderful, endearing state)

But any state with a small population or a state with the population condensed into only 1 or 2 major cities is just rife to be corrupt - too many big fish in a very small pond. It's just a lot harder to be majorly corrupt in larger states with more scattered population centers - harder to concentrate power.

[roguevalley]

6. bookmark www.adn.com, the statewide newspaper, the Anchorage

Daily News, goes after the bad guys like fury. They love to tie cans to don and ted's tails. :)

Two more legislature guys to go and we are hearing that our dragon queen, lida green, is being looked at by the fbi. GO, FBI!

[roguevalley]

7. we have the only state capital that you cannot drive to in the USA.

Juneau is a small town that is isolated and so everyone lives in each other's pockets.

[harpboy_ak]

8. Pete Kott was elected by Anchorage voters

Kott was elected by East Anchorage and Eagle River right wingnuts. It's time that folks in Los Anchorage, who have been trying to move the capital for 50 years, stop blaming Juneau for what ANCHORAGE polticians, ANCHORAGE lobbyists, and ANCHORAGE business people do.

Juneau taxpayers pay for the legislative sessions and committee meetings to be carried live on cable TV all over the state. When that stupid Repuke-caused special session was held in Los Anchorage this summer, the only citizens that could watch it had to go to the basement of the Anchorage convention center in person since it wasn't on TV.

And remember, the money from oil, mining, and fishing that fuels the Anchorage economy comes from outside Los Anchorage, mostly the Bush.

You folks in Los Anchorage need to stop thinking that every effing thing in Alaska needs to be there. As the late Gov. Jay Hammond said, "The problem with Anchorage is that it's at least an hour away by plane from Alaska".

[roguevalley]

13. how about the others being tried? are they all anchorage too?

not being accessible and accountable to people walking in off the street is the problem. doing business behind a curtain is what it essentially is. By the way, I am from Soldotna, not Anchorage. Your assumptions are based on prejudice against Anchorage. Easy to fix on the session. Put it on TV.

[UpInArms]

9. Alaska trial hints at more politics-oil corruption (Republican - Stevens/VECO)

Source: Reuters

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (Reuters) - The trial of an Alaska politician found guilty of taking bribes from the oil industry has offered a glimpse into more widespread corruption in the state's government.

Details emerged in the trial of former state House Speaker Pete Kott about oil-friendly legislators who dubbed themselves the "Corrupt Bastards Club" and secretly taped booze-soaked hotel conversations showing how leaders of the state's biggest oil-services company used their clout to manipulate Alaska politics.

The jury returned on Tuesday a guilty verdict against Kott on the charges of bribery, conspiracy and extortion.

The Kott trial, which began September 5, is the second so far resulting from a wide-ranging federal corruption probe that broke a year ago with raids by federal agents of several lawmakers' offices and homes. The probe has ensnared U.S. Senator Ted Stevens, U.S. Rep. Don Young and others.

<snip>

All the implicated Alaska politicians are Republicans. Ted Stevens, Ben Stevens and Young have been charged with no crimes and have denied any wrongdoing.

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/bondsNews/idUSN2543671220070926?sp=true

[tanyev]

10. Corrupt Bastards Club!

I think the GOP has a new name.

[Robbien]

11. It doesn't just hint at more corruption. Proof of that more corruption was

placed in evidence to convict these guys. These guys are the ones who gave the bribes to politicians. The material evidence proved it.

So the guys giving the bribes go to jail and the guys receiving the bribes do not?

And headlines say "hint". Bah!

[Ian David]

12. I'm sure Bush will commute his sentence. n/t