TWO TOP OFFICERS of an Alaskan oil services company which operates in Asia, the Middle East, the Caribbean, and the United States pleaded guilty yesterday to bribing Alaska lawmakers with cash and the promise of jobs, contracts and favours for their backing on bills supported by the multinational firm.

Bill J. Allen, founder and chief executive of Anchorage-based VECO Corp., and Rick Smith, a vice-president, pleaded guilty in United States District Court to extortion, bribery and conspiracy to impede the Internal Revenue Service.

Prosecutors say Smith and Allen conspired to buy the support of five state lawmakers, who were not named in charging documents.

Allen also pleaded guilty to issuing company bonuses to VECO executives to repay them for campaign contributions they made to politicians, then claiming those bonuses as legitimate company expenses.

"It's an unfortunate day," said Amy Menard, an attorney for VECO. "No company wants to find itself where VECO is at. It's a difficult set of circumstances for any company to contend with."

Sentencing was not immediately scheduled. The sentence recommended for each was about ten years in prison and fines up to US$150 000, according to plea agreements dated last Wednesday and Thursday, and unsealed Monday. The combined maximum sentence for each was 20 years in prison and US$750 000 in fines.

VECO has said no corporate subsidiaries or other executives were involved.

The pleas came three days after federal prosecutors indicted one current and two former members of the Alaska House of Representatives on bribery and extortion charges related to last year's negotiations for a new oil and gas tax and a proposed natural gas pipeline.

The three indicted lawmakers – Republican Vic Kohring of Wasilla, former Representative Pete Kott of Eagle River and Bruce Weyhrauch of Juneau – pleaded not guilty Friday.

Kott, the former House speaker, is accused of accepting US$8 993 in payments, $2 750 in polling expenses and the promise of a contract as a lobbyist for VECO in exchange for his support of the proposed pipeline and a tax proposal that favoured VECO, according to court documents.

He said he would throw his support behind the company if he was made warden of a prison the company was building in the Caribbean, according to the indictment.

The tax passed, but the contract for the pipeline negotiated by former Governor Frank Murkowski was never approved.

Kohring is accused of demanding and accepting up to $2 600 in cash and a $3 000 job for a relative from VECO executives in exchange for his support. The indictment also alleges Kohring sought but did not receive a $17 000 loan for credit card debt.

On Monday, Kohring was stripped of his job as chairman of the House Oil & Gas Committee, though he remained a member of the panel. He issued a news release saying he agreed with the decision.

Weyhrauch, a 54-year-old lawyer, is charged with helping advance the oil service company's causes for the promise of legal work.

Menard said the corporation had turned over more than 100 000 pages of documents to the government.

VECO Corp. is an Alaska oil field services and construction company whose executives are major contributors to Republican political campaigns. (AP)