Star witness dropped from corruption trial

ALEXANDRIA, Va., June 11 (UPI) -- The U.S. government's star witness in a corruption trial of former U.S. Rep. William Jefferson, D-La., will not be called to testify, prosecutors said.

Lori Mody, a Virginia businesswoman who sparked the investigation of Jefferson -- whose freezer was found by federal agents to be stuffed with cash -- is being dropped from the government's case for unspecified reasons, lead prosecutor Mark Lytle told U.S. District Court Judge T.S. Ellis III.

Jury selection continued Thursday, with opening statements expected to begin Tuesday.

Dropping Mody, who went to the FBI in March 2005 to complain she was a victim of fraud in African investments the congressman promoted, will hurt the government's ability to use Mody's testimony about unrecorded conversations she had with Jefferson, legal experts told The (New Orleans) Times-Picayune.

But the government will still be able to introduce hours of secretly tape-recorded conversations between Mody and Jefferson -- Mody agreed to wear a wire -- which are at the heart of much of the government's case, the experts told the newspaper.

Dropping Mody also opens the door for the defense to raise doubts about Mody's credibility, George Washington University law professor Jonathan Turley said.

Mody gave Jefferson a briefcase containing $100,000 in marked bills, $90,000 of which were later found in his freezer.

Jefferson, 62, was indicted June 4, 2007 on charges of bribery, racketeering, money laundering and obstruction of justice. The case stems from his efforts to promote contracts in Africa for digital-technology company iGate Corp. of Louisville, Ky.