Kohring conviction stands, judge rules

ANCHORAGE — A federal judge has slapped down former Valley legislator Vic Kohring’s request to have his conviction thrown out or be retried.

Kohring, a seven-term Valley lawmaker, was sentenced to serve 42 months in prison in May 2008 after he was convicted of bribery and extortion in his dealings with the oil field services company VECO. But in June of last year, Kohring was let out of prison.

Prosecutors trying then-U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens had withheld evidence, according to the U.S. Justice Department. Stevens’ conviction was overturned and Kohring was given a chance to see whether the evidence withheld in Stevens’ case had any bearing on his case. Much of that evidence had to do with the character of VECO CEO Bill Allen, the star witness in both trials.

U.S. District Court Judge John W. Sedwick ruled in an order dated Wednesday that the evidence was not enough to have had an impact on Kohring’s trial. That ruling comes more than a year after Sedwick ordered Kohring and former state lawmaker Peter Kott released from prison.

In a two-page ruling issued June 11, 2009, Sedwick ordered both men released from out-of-state prisons and given plane tickets to return to Alaska “at the earliest possible time.”

The ruling came on the heels of revelations that federal prosecutors failed to disclose information to both defense teams during their trials. On Wednesday, Sedwick ruled there isn’t enough evidence to throw out Kohring’s conviction or order a new trial.

“While there is no excuse for the government’s failure to disclose most of it, this court does not believe that even if all of it had all been disclosed there is a reasonable probability that the jury would have returned different verdicts in the context of the entire record,” Sedwick wrote. “There is no doubt that Kohring solicited Allen’s help with his $17,000 problem knowing that any help given would be given in exchange for what Kohring could do to help with passage of legislation favored by VECO.”

The judge said Kohring can remain free while he files appeals.