The U.S. District Court judge presiding over the trial, which began Sept. 5, let the jurors go home before noon. They are to come back to the federal courthouse Monday morning for closing arguments.
The case will then be in the hands of the 12-member jury that will decide Kott's guilt or innocence on charges of bribery, conspiracy, extortion and wire fraud.
Its decision on the fate of Kott, the former Republican speaker of the state House from Eagle River, is a major test of the ongoing federal investigation into corruption in Alaska politics.
Kott's defense team Friday tried to blunt the impact of secretly made recordings of Kott and Veco Corp. executives plotting, often drunkenly, their political strategy in a Juneau hotel suite.
Kott's lawyers called to the witness stand Judy Ohmer, who was Kott's chief of staff in the Legislature.
Under questioning by defense lawyer Jim Wendt, Ohmer told jurors that when Kott was drinking, which was often, he talked like a hillbilly, cussed a lot more and stumbled around.
"Sometimes I felt I had two different bosses," Ohmer testified. "It just seemed like his thinking was not as clear."
Ohmer said Kott, when he was drinking, would also be more biting in what he said and how he said it.
The federal prosecutors objected to this line of questioning. But Judge John Sedwick allowed it to proceed.
Ohmer said she used to be certified as an alcohol treatment counselor and tried to organize an intervention for Kott, which would have involved friends pressuring him into getting help. She even picked out a treatment center.
But Ohmer, who was the final witness of the trial, testified she never ended up confronting Kott.
"I didn't believe I had enough leverage to make it happen," she said.
Kott said in a brief interview outside the courtroom that Ohmer may have dropped a hint but they never really discussed the matter.
Kott said his current level of drinking is "limited."
Ohmer testified that one of Kott's drinking buddies was then-Veco chief Bill Allen, who has pleaded guilty to bribing Kott and other state legislators.
"They would go down and have what they called a 'pop' at the Baranof, a beverage," Ohmer told the jury.
She was referring to the Baranof Hotel, where the FBI recorded Veco executives holding court with legislators and lobbyists in Suite 604. Ohmer testified that Suite 604 had a nickname in the Legislature.
It was referred to as the Animal House," she testified.
Ohmer said Kott's nickname was "The Sheriff," which she thinks he got from his years as chair of the Rules Committee in the state House. She said Rick Smith, a then-Veco vice president who lived in the hotel suite during legislative sessions, was nicknamed "The Leprechaun."
"He has a funny way of kind of hunching over and giggling and kind of lifts one leg when he does it," Ohmer testified. "It kind of looked leprechaunish."
Smith, like Allen, has pleaded guilty to bribing Kott in order to advance the Veco position on oil taxes.
Ohmer testified, though, that Kott and Veco weren't always on the same team. She said she remembered one time Smith came to Kott's office to talk about workers' compensation legislation.
Smith was "red faced and upset with whatever position Pete was taking on the legislation," Ohmer said.
Smith had testified earlier in the trial that he doesn't remember ever talking to Kott about workers' comp, but probably did.
Kott, who was on the witness stand Thursday, said both Smith and Allen were mad about his position on the workers' compensation bill but he still wouldn't change it.
Kott said Allen made a furious phone call to him.
"When he gets mad he starts jabbering at you," Kott said.
Allen testified last week that he doesn't remember such a phone call. Allen said he didn't even care about the issue.
Before Kott's former chief of staff took the stand, the defense on Friday called Kodiak Republican Rep. Gabrielle LeDoux. She testified for only about 15 minutes.
Jurors had earlier seen FBI recordings where Kott and Veco executives spoke about trying to get LeDoux on their side on the oil taxes issue.
LeDoux said Kott spoke to her a little bit about the oil tax bill. But it was no different from conversations she had with other legislators, she said.
"That's kind of what we do down there, we talk about legislation," she said.
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The Kott corruption trial overview
THE PROSECUTION
Bribery claims: Two former Veco Corp. executives -- Bill Allen and Rick Smith -- named Kott when asked during their testimony if they had bribed Alaska lawmakers.
Kott's own words: Dozens of secretly made audio and video recordings were entered into evidence and on many, Kott is seen or heard plotting with Veco Corp. executives about how to get the oil industry's favored version of a new oil tax passed. In a voice mail message left for then-Veco chief executive Allen just before the start of the 2006 legislative session, Kott said, "Things start tomorrow. I just wanted to get what our instructions are."
Inflated invoice: Both Allen and Veco vice president Smith testified that a flooring invoice for $7,993 that Allen paid to Kott's Hardwood Flooring -- the business Kott ran with his son -- was not for flooring at all. Instead it was a way to get money to Kott's son so he could take time off and work on Kott's re-election campaign.
Cash payment: In one video from Suite 604 of the Baranof Hotel, Allen is counting something out -- the camera angle doesn't show what. He testified it was $1,000 cash he was giving to Kott.
Political poll: Smith told jurors that Veco paid Dittman Research Corp. $2,750 for a political poll to benefit Kott's 2006 campaign.
The promise of a job: References on the recordings to Veco getting a job for Kott in Barbados may have been a running joke. But Allen told jurors that he fully intended to get Kott a job once he was out of the Legislature, and on one of the recordings, assures him he'll get to be a lobbyist.
THE DEFENSE
Bribery claims: Kott denied he took any bribes.
Kott's own words: He came across as serious and knowledgeable in two tough days on the witness stand, a different person from the hard-cussing, heavy-drinking man seen in the videos. He testified that he never asked Allen or Smith for money and worked long hours in his hardwood flooring business.
Inflated invoice: Kott said the nearly $8,000 he got from Allen was a legitimate advance for flooring work.
Cash payment: Kott said the cash given to him by Allen was $900 to reimburse him for a contribution to then-Gov. Frank Murkowski's campaign.
Oil tax: In the end, Kott recorded a vote in favor of a 22.5 percent tax rate, he told jurors, higher than the 20 percent Veco had pushed for, though prosecutors noted he changed his vote only when it was clear the higher rate would pass anyway.
Political poll: Kott told jurors that he never wanted a poll, never asked for it, and never used it. His son, Peter M. Kott, served as his campaign manager and testified to the same thing.
The surveillance: Kott said that when jurors hear him talking in FBI recordings about getting votes from other legislators or holding up other lawmakers' bills, he's just boasting to his Veco friends who hung out in Suite 604, trying to take credit for things he didn't really do.
Other legislators: State Rep. Gabrielle LeDoux, R-Kodiak, whose name comes up on some of the recordings, testified that Kott talked to her about the 20 percent tax rate -- the rate Veco and oil producers wanted -- but never pressured her. And former House Minority Leader Ethan Berkowitz told jurors that Kott never wrested Democratic votes from him, as Kott brags in one recording.
AND SOME SURPRISES
Stevens home: Former Veco executive Allen told jurors that the company paid workers to work on a major remodel of U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens home in Girdwood. That came out during defense questioning, apparently in an effort to discredit Allen in the eyes of the jury and minimize Kott's role.
CBC hats: Kott's girlfriend, Debora Stovern, told jurors that she was paid $900 by Veco to embroider 100 hats with the company's logo and put CBC -- for Corrupt Bastards Club -- on the back of a dozen.
Implicated: Both Allen and Smith testified that they pleaded guilty to bribing former Senate President Ben Stevens, son of the U.S. senator, and Smith also implicated sitting state Sen. John Cowdery, neither of whom have been charged. But they didn't give details.
Another $5,000: Kott told jurors that $5,000 he received from Allen in 2004 was a loan for a down payment on a new truck. But he never repaid it.
A stash of cash: Stovern and Kott both testified about $30,200 found on the shelf of his closet during the FBI search of their Juneau residence on Aug. 31, 2006. The FBI didn't seize the money, but prosecutors questioned why Kott couldn't have used it to pay his son or pay off the car loan.
Another allegation: Allen denied threatening to have his nephew murdered for being involved in blackmail. "I told him I would kick the s--- out of him," Allen said on the witness stand.
Pig roast: Former Veco executive Smith said that for over 10 years he organized the annual pig roasts that raised money for U.S. Rep. Don Young's campaigns.
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