This is a star witness? The case against James Traficant is drawing to a close, and he is about to begin his defense. The prosecution's star witness took the stand yesterday.
Cafaro said under cross-examination that he has pleaded guilty to conspiracy and faces a sentence of up to two years in prison. He acknowledged that prosecutors have promised to recommend a shorter sentence — zero to six months — if he testifies truthfully in the Traficant trial.Traficant asked Cafaro why there was no physical evidence of the favors he did for the congressman.
"We didn't want anyone to know," Cafaro said.
Cafaro testified that over a 10-year period he gave Traficant three cars with a total value of close to $100,000, but never asked Traficant to pay for them.
During cross-examination, he said the cars were junk and that $10,000 Traficant later gave him was more than enough compensation.
If this was the best the government could do, Traficant would win. However, there seems to be no end to the people willing to testify against him. He'll be convicted by the sheer weight of the testimony.
Posted by Rich at March 20, 2002 10:39 AM