Prosecution wants max for Kott

The defense says less than three years is plenty.

A federal jury convicted Kott in September of three felony charges: conspiracy, bribery and extortion. He was acquitted of wire fraud. Jurors found that he was bribed by executives with oil field services company Veco Corp. to push a version of an oil tax favored by North Slope oil producers.

Kott's sentencing hearing is scheduled for Dec. 7, and prosecutors filed their recommendation to the judge on Friday. Defense lawyer Jim Wendt said his recommendation should be filed today. He expected to ask for a range of 33 to 41 months.

"It's an adversarial system. They argue for as much as they think they can possibly get. The defense argues for the minimum amount. Everybody knows that," Wendt said.

A decision will be up to U.S. District Judge John Sedwick, who is presiding over all the corruption cases so far.

Kott, 58 and Republican, represented Eagle River in the Legislature for seven terms, including one as House speaker. He now lives with his girlfriend in Juneau.

During his trial, prosecutors played dozens of secretly made recordings for jurors. On many, Kott came across as a heavy-drinking ally of Veco. But the defense claimed he was just a hard-working blue collar Republican, a man who got on his knees laying hardwood floors for a living, someone who didn't ask for handouts.

Prosecutors are seeking double the sentence handed down to convicted former state Rep. Tom Anderson, who reports to federal prison Monday. And their recommendation is far above the four to six years they initially estimated Kott might face.

Now they say Kott should get about 10 to 12 1/2 years, several more than what a U.S. probation officer suggested. They argued to the judge in a memorandum that he deserves more time because he took multiple bribes and was an organizer of a criminal conspiracy.

As the government sees it, Kott in effect took three bribes: a promised job as a Veco lobbyist or consultant, talked about in 2006 and earlier; a $5,000 payment in 2004 that Kott testified was a truck loan still unpaid; and three other benefits that Kott received in 2006, which prosecutors count as one bribe for sentencing purposes. That last item includes $1,000 cash, a political poll for Kott that cost Veco $2,750, and an inflated flooring invoice for $7,993.

What's more, prosecutors say, Kott was "a critical organizer and manager within the larger conspiracy." Then-Veco chief executive Bill Allen, who has pleaded guilty to bribery and testified against his old friend Kott, placed high value on Kott's role, they say.

That's clear, they say, from a June 6, 2006, secretly recorded telephone call between Allen and Jim Bowles, president of Conoco Phillips Alaska. Allen told Bowles that he was using Kott and then-Senate President Ben Stevens to kill the tax bill, which at that point was too high for the industry.

Beyond that, prosecutors say, "Kott attempted to evade responsibility for his crimes by blatantly lying to the jury about his actions down to the very last vote he took as a legislator."

They go on:

"It cannot be disputed that Kott's crimes, particularly given his past leadership role as Speaker of the Alaska State House and his long tenure in that body, have struck a severe blow to the public's faith in the Alaska State Legislature and their elected leaders."

The government also is seeking a $16,473 fine, which totals the amount of the corrupt payments, and three years probation.

So far, in the multi-pronged federal corruption investigation, three former legislators have been convicted by juries, two Veco Corp. executives and a former lobbyist in Anchorage have pleaded guilty; a fourth legislator is awaiting trial while the government appeals a ruling on evidence. The investigation is continuing.

Find Lisa Demer online at adn.com/contact/ldemer or call 257-4390.