KTUU.com | Alaska's news and information source | Bill Allen admits to bribing Alaska's top public officials

Bill Allen admits to bribing Alaska's top public officials

by Bill McAllister
Thursday, Sept. 13, 2007

ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- The defense attorney for Pete Kott said the former legislator never had a reason to expect he would get a job with VECO Corp. after leaving office. That strategy sharpened today during Kott's public corruption trial.

Defense attorney James Wendt cross-examined Bill Allen, the former CEO of oilfield services company VECO, who has entered a guilty plea to bribing Kott and other legislators.    

Wendt is trying to show that Kott was not bribed with a promise of future employment with VECO because Kott would not have been in a position to take such a job.

During his 14 years in office, Kott was closely affiliated with Allen, who founded VECO and was a major player in Alaska Politics.    

Kott is charged with conspiracy, bribery and extortion for allegedly accepting financial assistance from Allen and another VECO executive in exchange for supporting the company's position on a new oil tax and a natural gas pipeline contract in 2005 and 2006.    

Testifying for the prosecution Wednesday, Allen confirmed the government's allegation that one of the inducements he offered Kott was the promise of a job.

"I knew that he was going to get out of the Legislature, out of the House," Allen said.

James Goeke, a prosecutor with the government, quotes a conversation by Allen and Kott.

"Mr. Kott says -- you say, 'Get the gas line, get the gas line.' Mr. Kott says 'That's my commitment to you.' What did you mean by 'get the gas line'?" Goeke said.

"Well, if he wanted a job, I would have (gotten) him a job," Allen said.

"Right after that, Mr. Kott says, 'I'll get her done,' and you say ‘and I'll do the same thing to you.' What did you mean by the statement 'I'll do the same thing to you'?" Goeke questioned.

"Well, if he needed a job, I'd give him a job," Allen said.    

On cross-examination Wendt says that if Kott had won his re-election campaign last year, he could not have worked as a lobbyist for VECO until at least 2010, under a law that requires a one-year waiting period after leaving office.    

Allen said Kott did not intend to run for re-election but at the last minute failed to get his name off the primary election ballot.    

Allen also testified that he could have gotten Kott some other job at VECO until he was eligible to lobby.    

Wendt focused on a recorded conversation in which Kott said he specifically wanted to be a lobbyist, and Allen assured him he would be.

The defense attorney apparently suggested the lobbying job would have had to be with some other firm, and therefore not an equal exchange for Kott's actions on VECO's behalf.     

Wendt also noted the recent sale of VECO to a Denver firm, CH2MHill, the culmination of two years of discussions Allen had with various suitors.    

Wendt said Kott knew about some of those negotiations, and therefore the former legislator would have known Allen probably would not be in a position to offer him a job in the future.

Wendt also noted that former legislators Tom Anderson and Ben Stevens had consulting contracts with VECO while in office, and he said Kott never asked for one.    

Earlier though, testifying for the prosecution, Allen said he would not have been willing to offer Kott a job if he had supported a 30 percent tax on oil production profits, compared with the 20 percent maximum VECO supported on behalf of North Slope producers.

Toward the end of the day, Wendt began asking Allen about an apparent investigation into allegations that he was planning to have his nephew murdered.

Allen said the nephew was among the witnesses cited when the FBI first approached him on Aug. 30, 2006. 

He denied that he intended to kill his sister's son, but said he had told his nephew that he might "beat the (expletive) out of him."

Allen said he expects to get a sentence of 11 years, although he said the prosecution hasn't promised him anything. He said as long as his children and former employees are protected from prosecution, he doesn't care.

Allen's cross-examination concludes in the morning and then the prosecution will put on former VECO Executive Rick Smith.    

It turns out the prosecution won't rest tomorrow, as once planned.

Contact Bill McAllister at bmcallister@ktuu.com