Kohring sentence is justice

Sometimes nice guys finish last.

Such is the case with former longtime Mat-Su Valley state House member Vic Kohring, who learned Thursday he’ll spend three and a half years in federal prison for accepting bribes from former VECO oil services company executives. The sentencing closes one of the saddest chapters in Mat-Su Valley politics, and while just, we regret that corruption and bribery will be the legacy for the man Valley voters trusted enough to elect seven times.

At Thursday’s sentencing, Kohring’s Seattle-based attorney John Henry Browne characterized Kohring as a “gentle giant.” Prosecutors countered he is a “corrupt gentle giant.”

They’re both right, and while both characterizations are truthful, neither is completely accurate. What Kohring and his defense team failed to realize is that by accepting money from former VECO CEO Bill Allen and executive Rick Smith, the lawmaker was selling the public’s cow for a few magic Easter eggs. It sounds innocent enough that the money Kohring gleaned from the oil executives — less than $3,000 total — was loans from friends and not graft in return for favorable treatment of oil legislation over which Kohring had control. A gift of cash to buy his stepdaughter an Easter gift surely couldn’t be tainted.

But Kohring should’ve known better. As a veteran state lawmaker, Kohring knows that whether one actually grabs any cookies, simply being caught with a hand in the cookie jar is enough to betray the public’s trust.

We take no pleasure in watching the unraveling of Kohring’s professional, public and personal life. He was very forthcoming Thursday in explaining that his trial, conviction and now sentencing are the catalysts for his downfall, which includes an ongoing divorce, foreclosure on his home and financial devastation. He even hitchhiked to his own sentencing hearing in Anchorage after a borrowed truck broke down on his way to the courthouse.

Even so, we wonder how Kohring’s inability to manage his finances long before charges for corruption were filed against him affected his decisions as a lawmaker and how those decisions may have affected each of us. And we wonder how recounting the sad story of an ex-legislator hitchhiking to his own bribery sentencing is calculated to draw pity from his former constituents.

While we can pity Kohring the man, we’re glad justice has been served on Kohring the former state legislator. He continues to maintain his innocence and says he feels “totally betrayed” by Allen and Smith, but he has no one to blame for his situation except himself. What Kohring still fails to understand is that the people of the Mat-Su Valley and Alaska — not he — are the true victims of his dishonest deal-making with “friends” at VECO.

Following Thursday’s hearing Kohring reflected that he’ll “wonder for the rest of my life if I got a fair trial.” Perhaps that’s part of a fitting punishment for one who will leave local voters wondering how fair and honest their representation was in the state Legislature.

Sometimes being “nice” just isn’t enough.