From Deseret News archives:
Not-guilty pleas in oil case
Rep. Victor Kohring of Wasilla, Pete Kott of Eagle River and Bruce Weyhrauch of Juneau, all Republicans, were arrested Friday.
Prosecutors allege the scheme unfolded as lawmakers weighed a new petroleum profits tax structure and a new contract for a natural gas pipeline last year.
Kott explicitly linked his support of the pipeline and the company's preferred version of the tax proposal to benefits during a teleconference with company officials, according to the indictment.
"You'll get your gas line, the governor gets his bill, and I'll get my job in Barbados," he told company executives, the indictment states.
The tax passed, but the contract for the pipeline negotiated by former Gov. Frank Murkowski was never approved.
The indictment does not name the company, but an attorney for VECO Corp. said it was the company involved.
Kott is accused of accepting $8,993 in payments, $2,750 in polling expenses and a future contract as a lobbyist in exchange for his support of the pipeline and a tax proposal that favored the company, according to court documents.
Weyhrauch is charged with helping advance the oil service company's causes in exchange for the promise of legal work in the future for the company, the indictment said.
FBI spokesman Eric Gonzalez said the arrests stemmed from an investigation that led federal agents last summer to raid the offices of at least six lawmakers, including Kott and Weyhrauch.
Amy Menard, an attorney representing VECO in the investigation, told The Associated Press that the Anchorage-based corporation has turned over more than 100,000 pages of documents to the government, she said.
"VECO has been cooperating since day one, since it learned of the investigation. The government has indicated to the company that it is satisfied with the cooperation and is looking forward to continued cooperation," she said.
Kott's son, Peter Kott Jr., declined comment when reached at the family's Eagle River business. Weyhrauch's attorney Doug Pope and Kott's attorney James Wendt declined to comment on the case.
John Henry Browne, an attorney for Kohring, said the lawmaker plans to fight the charges.
Comments
- Tuesday on TV 12:13 a.m.
- 'Dancing' will fill out finale 12:13 a.m.
- I'll take doc's advice on mammogram 12:12 a.m.
- Editorial: Winning fans' hearts 12:11 a.m.
- Afterthoughts 12:11 a.m.
- Letters: Barzee case like Jeffs' 12:11 a.m.
- Letters: Trump card for believers 12:11 a.m.
- Letters: Can't erase genetics 12:11 a.m.
- Letters: Rushing to judge Palin 12:11 a.m.
- Letters: MLS not BCS 12:11 a.m.
- Real Champions
- Bronco, Kyle rubber match
- Protests against Phoenix LDS temple
- BYU's Lamb, Jorgensen reprimanded
- Plenty on line for rivalry game
- Time for big matchups in WAC, MWC
- RSL wins MLS Cup on penalty kicks
- BCS at-large bids up for grabs
- Hall, Johnson matchup key
- Fans greet returning Real Salt Lake
- Glenn Beck to enter politics?
213 - RSL wins MLS Cup on penalty kicks
195 - Palin plans tour stop in Utah
178 - Palin's book shows she's unqualified
133 - BYU records with win
132 - Bronco, Kyle rubber match
131 - Protests against Phoenix LDS temple
109 - Officer cleared in Cardall Taser case
103 - BYU cuts Women's Research Inst.
103 - Jazz finally win in San Antonio
99
Jared Quayle is a stud. He plays like a beast every time he touches the...
No Phx is not a majority LDS city Mesa is. As far as Tom's comment about...
Lest my Utah friends think I was just going to bang on my own, I think UteFan...
You can read the official declaration online via a photo of the original....
"McFeatters states that what Palin is doing, and doing brilliantly, is being...
don't mean to pick on you but fans from both sides make it easy to despise...
Nick Paulos is a great shooter, and Connor Brady's decent. But Provo and Kyle...
Explain this to me. He claims a utah fan ran on the field and threw a CUP of...
The International Center for Religion and Diplomacy mentioned in this article...
BYU doesn't have to make the U sound anti-Mormon, it's a fact; there is a...



You can be the first to comment on this story.