Hundreds of hours of video recordings, plus hundreds more of audio, added to thousands of pages of documents. As federal investigators silently tracked and secretly taped Alaska politicians and business leaders in a sweeping corruption investigation, they built a digital mountain of evidence, according to testimony in federal court Tuesday.

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Kohring

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It's all too much to sift through by July, the defense lawyer for Rep. Vic Kohring told U.S. District Judge John Sedwick.

The judge agreed.

In a brief Anchorage hearing that shed just a little light on the scope of the investigation, Sedwick delayed Kohring's trial more than three months, until Oct. 22.

Kohring, R-Wasilla, is accused of selling his vote on oil taxes last year to the oil field services company Veco Corp. Veco executives Bill Allen and Rick Smith pleaded guilty to conspiracy, bribery and tax charges on May 7.

Prosecutor Edward Sullivan said two computer hard drives full of evidence in the Kohring case include a number of conversations "intercepted" in Suite 604, a reference to Veco's room in Juneau's Baranof Hotel, as well as telephone conversations involving Allen and Smith recorded over 11 months beginning in September 2005.

Kohring has pleaded not guilty and says he's innocent.

"I feel in my heart that things are going to work out just fine for me and I'm going to be exonerated," he said in a phone interview Tuesday.

Kohring called his legal bills "astronomical." He said he recently sold his Wasilla home and may have to sell his home in Beaverton, Ore., to pay legal fees that he expects to top $100,000.

The charges against Kohring say the longtime Valley legislator asked for help paying a $17,000 credit card debt and that he accepted cash from Veco executives.

Kohring said he couldn't answer specific questions about the case before it goes to trial.

"All I can say is that people have to remember that I am innocent until proven guilty," he said.

Kohring's lawyer, John Henry Browne of Seattle, said federal prosecutors gave him a tower of evidence in the corruption case only last week.

Browne said only a fraction of the evidence directly involves Kohring and that in the rest he expects to find ammunition to use in cross-examining Allen and Smith, who are expected to testify against his client.

"The government was probably recording these guys for a reason ... my guess is that this material will contain information that I can use to impeach them when they testify, about their conduct, behavior and general reputation for honesty," Browne said.

Kohring said people still support him and he has refused calls to give up his seat in the Legislature. He said he needs surgery on his neck, which could keep him from attending a possible special legislative session in the fall.

Until Tuesday's delay -- which drew no objection from prosecutors -- Kohring's trial was to begin July 9.

Daily News reporter Kyle Hopkins can be reached at khopkins@adn.com.