Williams: I lied about bribery (email from Washington Post)
"Jonnie R. Williams Sr. told jurors that he lied to Star Scientific shareholders when he claimed, on legal forms, that he had not bribed any government officials.
As Star produced its annual report, Williams said he was asked, as a matter of routine, to fill out a questionnaire. Among the many questions was one asking if he or anyone else at the company had paid bribes or kickbacks to government officials or their relatives, or made any other payments to obtain or retain business or receive favorable treatment.
There were two boxes for marking: True or False?
Williams said that his assistant, Jerri Fulkerson, filled out the form at his direction. She marked “False.”
“What box should have been marked?” prosecutor Michael Dry asked Williams.
“Should have been ‘True,’” said Williams, who went on to recall the $50,000 loan, the $15,000 catering check, the $20,000 New York shopping spree, the Rolex, vacations and golf outings. “Should have been true, because I was making payments to help our company.”
That was Williams’s last bit of testimony before court recessed for an hour-long lunch break."
