Kohring Trial Day 5 - Bill Allen Takes the Stand

U.S. District Court for the District of Alaska
Court Calendar for Friday, October 26, 2007

9:00 AM	3:07-CR-00055-JWS	Judge Sedwick	Anchorage Courtroom 3
USA vs. VICTOR H. KOHRING TRIAL BY JURY - DAY 5 (DEPS)

Most of the morning was going over points each side was trying to make or dispute. Smith was still on the witenss stand when I got in at 9:20am and Browne was cross examining.

How did the nephew get his job? Defense was trying to show that the 'recruiting' department was going to contact him, that he was actually recruited and went through all the proper processes for getting the job. Browne kept jumping around from topic to topic. The truck, he never got a truck from you?

They looked at the plea agreement and Browne reiterated the point that the government WILL recommend a reduced sentence if Smith cooperates sufficiently.

He continued to try to distinguish Kott from Kohring - trying to emphasize that Kott worked very specifically and hard to get the legislation passed whereas Kohring never voted for ppt. That Kott got more in payments - the flooring money, promise of a Veco job. Kohring was working for a friend. Veco paid for political polls for Kott but not for Kohring. Later prosecution was able to get Smith to say, over Browne's objection, that if Kohring had asked they probably would have done a poll for him.


I got the impression there was less tolerance for leading the witness. At one point, after allowing something that Sullivan objected to, the judge said that he was getting tired of telling the jury that what the lawyers say isn’t evidence. And the judge seemed a little testy with Browne when Sullivan had to keep objecting because "this has already been answered."

J: That goes well beyond the scope of redirect and is something you’ve covered

It ended there and Bill Allen was called in as the next witness. Bottini took over the questioning from Sullivan. Bill Allen is just an interesting guy with an interesting biography. I'll just stick my notes here. Note, as always, a lot is missing and I've often incorporated the answer into the question just to kee up. But Allen's slower speech makes it a little easier.

Not sure there is a lot here vital to the case, but it really is a piece of Alaska history. Perhaps the ADN will have the audio up tonight or tomorrow. In the mean time:

Bill James Allen, w. 11th Anchorage

Bottini: How old - I’m 70. 39 years in AK, born Soccoro NM, b. 1937 Motorcycle accident in 201. On a harley, took my helmet off, I shouldnt have. guy in front of me didn’t have break lights and I had to lay it down. Screwed up my speech.
Affect thought process? No
How affect? Sometimes I’ll saw the right or wrong word. Or sometimes can’t get it out of my mouth.
Where grow up? Oregon. Four brothers and ? sisters. I was right in the middle.
We picked fruit and hoed strawberries and stuff like that.
When moved to Oregon at 8, had you already started school? Didn’t go to school for about a year when 8. We were pretty poor, so we all had to work, picking fruit or hoeing the fields.
Eventually continued? About 9 or 10, Dad got a job in little place Lisle, Oregon and got back into school Till I was 15, Then moved back to NM with mother and brothers and sisters. I had to quit, I was a sophomore in HS, had to go back to work to support mother and other brothers and sisters.
What work? Got a job helping a welder, worked for El Paso natural gas. 15 years old.
I really loved welding and pipe particularly. I broke out, I done the tests when I was 17. That means I was a welder. It was a hard test. You had to weld an 8 inch pipe, They really take it all apart to see how well.
Did you progress to being a supervisor. About 21 or 22 forman over refinery or ? stations. I think 24 supervisor over pipe and whatever refinery, from that supervising went up to bigger jobs.
What geo part of US? New Mexico, Ok, Tx, Louisiana, went to LA and got into the union in LA, I think 250 pipe and welding union.
All oil and gas related? yes
Came to AK when? 1968. It was my wife wanted to go to AK cause her mom was here. I didn’t want to leave those positions in LA, but I told her I would, I would stay 3 months and was going back, because I thought I had a good deal in LA, and I’m still here.
When you came what kind of work? Supervision over pipe with another ??. Arco asked me to go into business with the King Salmon platform. A production platform, they produced quite a bit of oil, but of course the reserves finally quit. They may still have a little oil. Producing 54K barrels. Right out of Kenai in Cook Inlet.
Arco wanted you to do some work for them? Structural, particularly with pipe. Who were you working for? ? Little bitty outfit.called Waggly
Arco wanted me to stay there, so they asked me if I’d go into business so they could keep me? About the same time Wayne Veltry had the sparks, another platform Arco had. They asked if we could go together. When you have a shut down, you need more help. I’d help Wayne on the Sparks and he’d help me on the King Salmon. That was 68.

Name of that business? Wayne went to get it done. Wayne not good on pipe and he went into town to form the company, when he came back it was Veltry enterprises. i wasn’t sure I liked that. He went back and came back and said how about VE construction? I said fine.

At some time buy him out? wayne wanted to get out of platforms so I bought his 50%. Still VE construction? Yeah for long time, sometime in 70’s had engineering and stuff so I took VE const and it became VECO.

Still servicing the platforms Yes. arco wanted me to go up and build a pipeline in 71 or 72. It was a natural gas fuel pipeline for their camp. At Prudhoe. Was that the first work you starting doing on the Nslope? About 71.

Did VE con continue in 70s on slope? We didn’t get the oil pipeline permit and everything was kinda, wasn’t as good as it was, still had a lot of pipe work in Cook Inlet. KNew there was big boom coming in N Sea between Scotland and Norway. Started company with 50% with English company. Tar people...get some water….They were in the tar business TPTR I think.

VE const. continue in AK, didn’t shut down? I went back and forth. Same work we did on platforms in CI. A lot bigger. We done a lot a hook up, modules, it was a pretty they was a lot work, it was a boom. Started in 72 and built it up to 77, then Norwegian gov started taxing everybody. Norwegians thought they knew enough to do the oil field. Idecided time to get out and sold my half to English company I talked about.

Successful venture. Put money back on the slope. By then we had the permit to build the oilgas pipeline. Put money into camps , these shops, equipment, and it was a pretty good, timeing pretty good.

How big had VE Const grown? How many employees? Probably 2000 here in AK?
Who were clients:? BP ARco, Exxon,
Change VE cons to VECO, Continue to grow? Yeah. I bought that drilling rig company in GJ Colorado. Already had engineering, about that time brought VE construction down to VECO.

Did VEco ultimately become international? Yeah,we ah, I sold the ah drilling company and bought a ship yard in channel view right next to Houston. we built a lot of platforms in Gulf of Mexico. We still have AK, and 84, there was an agreement with unions, when building the oil pipeline and facilities ont he slope. That agreement ended in 84. they went to non-union. THen Veco got a lot of work ont he slope because we were non-uniion.

Four to Five thousand employees. Probably 50% alaska. AK always been the backbone.

BP, CPhillips (bought Arco, BP got part of ARco) and Exxon major oil partners.

2005 what role did you have in mgt of Veco? I was the Chairman. We asked about corp structure. Veco Corp, Subsidiaries?
BA: We had regions, Canada, Lower 48, Mid East, and Russia.
Bot: have a management team at V? Sr Management TEam
BA: Pete Leathard, President; Roger Conn, Overall Finance CEO Fin; Rick Smith, under me with Govt. can’t remember title; Jamie Slack, HD, saying it right? HR
Tom Corcharon, controller.

JB: 2005, total revenue?
BA: Pretty close to a billion. I think as far as private profit, 70%, 60% from AK
JB: Children
BA: Three. Mark had mgt position, maybe 8 years. At the end Tammy Carrigan was the chairman
JB: Sold Veco?
BA: Closing was 6th or 7th of September this year.
JB: While running Veco here in AK, did V get involved in politics?
BA: Yeah, I think I started in 84. the native coprs, particularly Arctic Slope they could tax the oil companies on the slope, stop permits. I thought if I didn’t get into politics the native corps would have pushed me out?
JB ??
BA: They had more horse power politically than I did, so I thought I’d get into politics.
I hired a guy as a lobbyist. Ed Dankworth. About 84.
JB;
BA: He lobbies Leg on what you’re trying to get done. Mine was oil industries. I knew if they were ok, they’d have work we could bid on.
I think Dankworth and I got crossways when we bought the Anchorage times. I wanted Ed to work with ACS, Chuck …………..can’t say his last name……………
JB Chuck Robinson? What was Anch Times
BA: Newspaper here in AK, in competition with Daily News. I think I bought it in 1989.
I wanted Dank to help Chuck, he really tried to help the Anch Times with advertising. I asked Ed if he would help him and he said no, I won’t do that, because he was … the other company. I’m sorry, drinking.
B: I have no problem with leading questions
BA: the other phone company
JB: GCI? yes

JB: Fund raisers?
BA: We done that with Ed. You organize an event and get everybody who likes a candidate. We have some food, drink, take their checks. They like the candidate, then we take the money and give that candidate, I think this thing (earphone) has quit.

J: here’s another

BA:
J: works on infra red, line of sight, if he turns his head it doesn’t work.
JB: also politically active for campaign contributions?
BA: that’s what fundraisers for.
RS came to work for us when we had the spill, when i bought the paper, he told me by that time, Ed was gone, hey, I could organize those fund raisers. I didn’t know but I let him try. He did a good job. He always done the fund raisers.

JB promoted to mgt
BA: Government Affairs, VP
JB: over the years, did you attend, become close to legislators
BA: Ramona Barnes, she’s died. John Cowdery, Pete Kott, Vic Kohring. Beverly Masek. I can go on for…
JB OK, Became active as far as individual contributions. Did Veco develop programs where senior execs were reimbursed for campaign contributions
BA: Special bonus. It was supposed to been, if they wanted to be into politics, you know, mostly the candidates would like oil industry, there was a charity, so we gave them the money, they supposed to do it or not do it. Once we give them the money it was there money. I thought it was legal. I think it really is.
Objection, there isn’t a question?
JB: Some of the execs directed to whom they should contribute?
BA: Yes they were, that’s why it didn’t work.

JB: what issues you concerned with in leg?
BA: oil tax, permits
JB: good place to stop?


Photo: Prosecutor Sullivan in the cafeteria. I'm still uncomfortable taking pictures of people who'd rather I didn't, but I don't think he can object to this one. He sat down nearby where I was writing this.