Up in Alaska, three sites have been blogging about the corruption trial of GOP ex-state Representative Vic Kohring. He is the third ex-member of the state House to go on trial here. The earlier two trials ended in convictions. Legislator-lobbyist Tim Anderson has been sentenced to five years. Ex-Representative Pete Kott is awaiting sentencing.
The top two executives of ex-oil company service organization Veco (now part of CH2M Hill) pled guilty to corrupting these legislators and several other key GOP figures, mostly on the state level, but, apparently at least three on the Federal level.
Several more indictments are expected. Ex-state Senator Ben Stevens, son of US Senator Ted Stevens has been fingered by the Veco executives as having received almost a quarter million dollars in bribes, and his father's Girdwood, Alaska chalet has been searched by the FBI. Ex-state Representative Bruce Weyrauch has been indicted and current state Representative John Cowdery has been named as one of the people the Veco executives pled guilty of bribing. The former executives stated in testimony on Thursday and Friday that they wore a wire for the FBI while making calls to members of Alaska's US Congressional delegation.
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