Cellini's lawyer takes aim at star witness

Cross-examination brings up drug use, memory issues

By Annie Sweeney, Tribune reporter

Whether Stuart Levine comes off as a believable government witness or a drug-addled schemer not to be trusted is a key issue at Springfield power broker William Cellini's trial on charges that he tried to extort a Hollywood producer.

In Levine's first full day of cross-examination, Cellini's attorney, Dan Webb, tried to win the jury over to his view by portraying Levine as a shameless man who double-crossed close friends, cheated institutions and led a double life for decades.

Under the barrage, Levine appeared steady and thoughtful but often asked for questions to be repeated.

Still, Webb was able to bring out details such as Levine's cocaine sessions in the 1980s and 1990s and allegations that the purported victim in this case had engaged in a bribe plot years earlier with Levine.