Kohring qualifies for public defender

ANCHORAGE — If and when Vic Kohring goes back on trial for corruption charges, he will have a government-paid lawyer defending him.

Kohring, a former Republican member of the state House of Representatives representing Wasilla, was convicted in 2007 of bribery, corruption and extortion and sentenced in May 2008 to 42 months in prison.

He was released from prison after almost a year behind bars after misconduct on the part of federal prosecutors led to the conviction of former U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens being overturned.

Kohring’s conviction was likewise thrown out. It’s still unclear what prosecutors intend to do with him.

On Monday, federal court magistrate judge John Roberts agreed to have Kohring represented by the federal public defender’s office. Kohring has said ever since his release that he has been all but penniless, relying on friends for transportation.

It seems to be a common state for Kohring, who famously slept in his Juneau office to save on his expenses. His defense at trial was that he was accepting a gift from a friend when he got money to pay for his daughter’s Girl Scout uniform and Easter presents from Bill Allen, head of the now-defunct oil field services company VECO.

Allen cooperated with prosecutors and testified at most of the trials in the far-reaching corruption investigation in exchange for a lower sentence on his own charges.