In the trial of William Jefferson, thee judge replaced a juror with an alternate but did not explain while. Meanwhile, the Government’s case continued:
A former Nigerian telecommunications executive told jurors Thursday that he decided to cooperate with an FBI investigation of former Rep. William Jefferson because he was “financially ruined” by his involvement with a Kentucky telecommunications firm Jefferson was promoting.
Dumebi Kachikwu, former part owner of Nigeria Digital Television, said he was so broke he couldn’t pay his wife’s college fees, and he “wanted some form of justice.”
Kachikwu said he most looked forward “to sitting in this chair, ” referring to the witness stand, and “testifying against the congressman.”
Kachikwu said he had once worked closely with Jefferson, testifying that in May 2004, he had gotten information that authorities in Nigeria were prepared to arrest the congressman, who was in the country trying to resurrect the telecommunications project. Kachikwu said he learned the arrest was based on complaints from a fellow NDTV executive that Jefferson had sought bribes from the company.
Kachikwu said he drove the congressman and iGate CEO Vernon Jackson to the airport about 5:30 a.m. so they could leave the country earlier than planned and keep Jefferson from being imprisoned. …
Kachikwu testified Wednesday that Jefferson had sought payoffs from NDTV that could have netted the New Orleans Democrat millions of dollars. The plan was for NDTV to use technology by iGate Inc., a Kentucky firm Jefferson was promoting, to develop cable and Internet service over existing phone lines.
Asked repeatedly by assistant U.S. Attorney Rebeca Bellows whether Jefferson ever told Nigerian officials that he had a financial stake in iGate or that he was receiving bribes from officials at NDTV, Kachikwu responded by either answering emphatically: “Absolutely not, ” or “No.”
He also did his best to support the prosecution argument that Jefferson was using his official congressional office to help iGate and other businesses, not, as the defense argues, acting on private business deals not covered by the federal bribery statute.
At one point, asked by Bellows to describe a letter Jefferson sent to the president of Nigeria, Kachikwu didn’t dwell on the contents, but told the jury it was written on “official congressional letterhead.”
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