Alaska Rep. Charged With Bribery ResignsBy JAMES HALPIN
The Associated Press
Tuesday, June 19, 2007; 9:42 PM
WASILLA, Alaska -- A state lawmaker accused of selling
his vote to oil businessmen said Tuesday he would give up
his House seat to focus on his defense against federal
bribery and extortion charges.
"I take the job as a legislator very seriously, but my life
is on the line, so I have chosen to defend myself so I can
prevail in court," Rep. Vic Kohring told The Associated
Press. "It's a very, very ugly decision to have to make,
frankly."
Kohring and two former state lawmakers were indicted May 4
on federal bribery and extortion charges related to alleged
dealings with Anchorage-based oil field services company
VECO Corp.
Federal prosecutors accuse the lawmakers of selling their
votes to VECO officials while they were considering a
rewrite of the state's petroleum production tax, which
could have levied a 20 percent tax on profits and a 20
percent credit on capital investments.
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