Most of the revelations have come out through dozens of secretly made recordings of cell phone calls and meetings in Suite 604 of the Baranof Hotel, the Juneau headquarters of Veco Corp. when the Legislature was in session. Kott is charged with taking bribes from Veco executives and conspiring with them and others to pass a new oil tax favored by North Slope oil producers in 2006.
The trial wrapped up its eighth day Friday and continues Monday.
Highlights so far:
WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 5
Just before the trial begins, U.S. District Judge John Sedwick splits Kott's case from that of his co-defendant, former Rep. Bruce Weyhrauch of Juneau. The two had been scheduled to be tried together. The split allows Kott's case to move forward while the government appeals a ruling excluding key evidence against Weyhrauch.
Jury selection for Kott begins. A few dozen people in the pool of 120 were weeded out earlier because of hardships, biases or other reasons revealed in written questionnaires.
THURSDAY, SEPT. 6
The process of picking a jury continues. It's slow going with prospective jurors questioned one by one about what they already knew about the case through news reports.
SEPT. 7
Just before noon, a jury of 10 women and two men, plus four alternatives, is picked. Eight of the regular jurors are from Anchorage. One is from Eagle River, which Kott represented for 14 years in the House. Another is a public radio talk show host from Kodiak. She comes back into the story later.
MONDAY, SEPT. 10
Prosecutor Nicholas Marsh, from the U.S. Justice Department's Public Integrity Section, and defense attorney Jim Wendt outline their versions of the case in opening statements to the jury, and the government begins to introduce the FBI's secretly made recordings into evidence.
Marsh says that Kott had betrayed the public trust by pushing an oil tax favored by industry in exchange for money, a Veco-paid-for political poll and the promise of a job from the company. In one of the recordings, Marsh tells jurors, Kott says "I sold my soul to the devil."
Wendt tells jurors the government has twisted what happened. Kott was just a blue-collar Republican working hard to get what most Alaskans wanted: a natural gas pipeline. There's nothing illegal about teaming up with lobbyists, the oil industry or others to work for a common goal, Wendt says.
"About the only ones that I can trust is you and ol' Ben Stevens," former Veco chief executive Bill Allen says to Kott in one of the recordings played that day. Stevens is the former Senate president.
TUESDAY, SEPT. 11
The entire day, an FBI agent from Cincinnati is on the witness stand to provide background as prosecutors introduce many more recordings into evidence. The cell phone conversations and meetings in Suite 604 reveal a crude world of political deal-making that operated on the fringes of the Alaska Legislature.
After a key vote on the oil tax rate on May 7, 2006, Kott goes to Suite 604 to celebrate with Allen, former Veco vice president Rick Smith, and others. In a grainy video, they clink glasses and Kott boasts about how he got the votes. "I use 'em and abuse 'em," he says of his colleagues.
WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 12
The government plays more recordings in the morning and then Allen takes the witness stand. It's the first time he's talked publicly about his role in the corruption investigation since it burst into public view more than a year ago. The courtroom fills with spectators.
Under questioning by prosecutor James Goeke, Allen tells about a scheme to funnel nearly $8,000 to Kott for his son so his son could take off from work to help on Kott's re-election campaign.
Allen also explains that when Kott keeps talking about going to work as a warden for a prison that Veco was building in Barbados, it's just a running joke. But Veco's promise to give Kott a job as a lobbyist once he was out of the Legislature was real, Allen testifies.
THURSDAY, SEPT. 13
Allen remains on the witness stand all day. He tells jurors he has been cooperating with the FBI since Aug. 30, 2006, when he was confronted by agents while with Sen. Fred Dyson on the way to breakfast. On Aug. 31, teams of federal agents raided offices of six legislators around the state. Allen says he pleaded guilty to bribing three: Kott, former Rep. Vic Kohring and Stevens. He does not mention Weyhrauch. Much of the day, defense lawyer Wendt pushes Allen to say that what the government calls bribes weren't that at all. But Allen doesn't go along.
FRIDAY, SEPT. 14
The most startling moment of the trial comes when Allen reveals that he or Veco provided workers and material for the 2000 building project that doubled the size of Ted Stevens' residence in Girdwood. Wendt, still doing the cross-examination, was seeking to discredit Allen and downplay the role that Kott played in the scandal.
Later in the day, former Veco vice president Rick Smith takes the stand. He also testifies about whom he pleaded guilty to bribing: Kott, Kohring, Weyhrauch, Stevens and one more, Sen. John Cowdery. In Smith and Allen's charging documents, Cowdery is believed to be Senator A, a member of the conspiracy, though not among the group that was bribed.
Also on Friday, juror Lisa Polito of Kodiak is dismissed after the judge learns she wrote a letter to the editor in October 2006 that described Veco's campaign contributions as "scandal-tainted money." One of the alternates, a child-care worker from Anchorage, is moved to the panel of 12 regular jurors.
What's next: Smith continues on the stand Monday, followed by more government witnesses. The defense is expected to begin presenting its case on Tuesday. That's expected to last at least a couple of days.
Find Lisa Demer online at adn.com/contact/ldemer or call 257-4390.<
TRIAL AUDIO: You can follow the Kott trial online. We have audio clips from the first day of testimony from ex-Veco CEO Bill Allen and many of the FBI wiretap recordings entered into evidence, some with transcripts. We're adding more every day and will eventually have all of the evidence and testimony. You'll also find an overview of the larger corruption investigation and an interactive timeline, and you can read about key players in the case.
STAY UP TO DATE: Read updates from the trial through the day each day the trial is in session on adn.com and on our politics blog
WHERE'S IT LEAD? For an interactive overview of the corruption investigation go online to adn.com/fbi. Click on "Corruption investigation overview" at the top of the right column.
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