Traffic Cop in the Ocean State: Kott Talks to the Alaska Dispatch About Dropping His Not Guilty Plea

Warwick, R.I.--

Jill Burke of Alaska Dispatch gets an interview with Pete Kott about the ex-legislator's decision to change his plea of not guilty to a bribery charge.    Consistent with my observation yesterday about his world-weariness, the former seven-term Republican lawmaker from Eagle River told Burke that "I'm just trying to bring finality to this whole thing.  It's been five years."    Asked whether his move to change his plea means that he is in fact guilty, the former Speaker of the Alaska House added that "Maybe it's just time to put it behind me and move forward in life regardless of what [I] think the outcome should be."  

Kott indicated that he had been in some turmoil about the decision:   "I've been like a windshield wiper on a car--back and forth."

We'll learn a lot more about the difficulties that played on Kott's mind when we see the actual plea agreement and sentence on that plea.