Vic Kohring


Victor H. "Vic" Kohring is a former member of the Alaska House of Representatives. A Republican, he was elected to seven consecutive two-year terms beginning in 1994. Kohring represented Wasilla in District 26 and then District 14, after redistricting due to the 2000 U.S. Census. He resigned on July 19, 2007 after a corruption probe.

Corruption

Kohring was indicted on federal bribery and extortion charges on May 4, 2007. He, along with former state legislators, Republicans Pete Kott and Bruce Weyhrauch, were accused of soliciting and accepting bribes from VECO, an oilfield services company. Their offices were among 20 searched by FBI agents on August 31, 2006. Kohring resigned his seat on June 20, 2007.
On November 1, 2007, a federal jury found Kohring guilty in three out of four criminal charges and acquitted on the fourth, a charge of extortion. In May 2008, he was sentenced to three and a half years in prison. Kohring asked outgoing President George W. Bush for a pardon that was not granted.
The conviction was vacated, and in 2011, Kohring agreed to plead guilty in exchange for being sentenced to time served and conditions on his release. Kohring was released on June 11, 2009.

Recent history

Kohring ran for a seat on the Wasilla City Council. He was defeated by a 2-1 margin on October 1, 2013.
In 2014 Kohring was the Alaskan Independence Party candidate for the U.S. Senate from Alaska. He withdrew from the race in September 2014 and endorsed Republican challenger Dan Sullivan.