At trial, Kentucky's Bill Collins gets final say as prosecutors hammer away at the gift piano.

FRANKFORT, Ky.--In the final day of testimony at the federal extortion trial of Bill Collins last Thursday, prosecutors sought to undermine Collins' claim that no connection existed between his business dealings and the awarding of Kentucky state bond contracts.

The case is now scheduled to go to the jury, which will probably take it up tomorrow evening, according to U.S. District Court Judge Joseph Hood.

Bill Collins, husband of former Kentucky Gov. Martha Layne Collins, is charged with extorting political contributions and $1.6 million in horse partnership investments from Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette Securities Corp. and Cranston Securities Co. between 1983 and 1987. In return, the government alleges, Donaldson Lufkin became bookrunner on bond deals during that period totaling $500 million, while Cranston was named to head. deals totaling $1.2 billion.

Martha Layne Collins served as governor for four years beginning in December 1983. No other person has been charged in the case.

Cranston Securities was bought by Cleveland-based Prescott, Ball, & Turben in 1987.

In her cross examination of Bill Collins on Thursday, Assistant U.S. Attorney Jane Graham focused most closely on the presentation to Martha Layne Collins in December 1984 of a $35,000 grand piano paid for by Donaldson Lufkin.

With his wife and two grown children watching, Collins insisted that the he did not help arrange for Donaldson's payment, even though the investment firm sent the check for the piano to him.

Collins said that earlier in 1984, then-Finance Secretary Lester Thompson told him Donaldson would cover the cost of the piano. But because Thompson had announced by December that he would be resigning from state government, the Donaldson check was sent to Collins instead, Bill Collins said.

"He could have talked to these people and told them to send it to me," Collins said, referring to Thompson. "That's the only explanation I can think of. I never talked to these people."

Collins said that the piano was a gift to the state and not to his wife.

"I saw no problem with DLJ paying for that piano for the State of Kentucky," he said.

Collins was also asked to explain why at many dinner meetings with the investment firms, Donaldson executives often paid the bill even though the topic, according to Collins, was the sale of his horse partnerships.

As with his response to many of Graham's questions Thursday, Collins frequently said he did not remember attending many of these meetings. In previous testimony, the prosecution has presented expense account vouchers from the two firms that indicate Bill Collins was present at the meetings.

And when asked about a June 1984 restaurant bill in New York City picked up by Donaldson, Collins replied, "I don't mean to be facetious, but there's no way I would pick up a check like that."

In addition, Graham questioned Collins closely about a letter that Cranston's chairman Robert Kanuth sent him in early July 1984, following a meeting with Kanuth at a Lexington restaurant.

Kanuth's letter thanked Collins for his time and enclosed a response to a request for proposals that had been sent out by the Kentucky Housing Corp. for a $100 million housing bond issue. The next month, Cranston was chosen co-senior manager on the deal, which closed in November.

The letter also mentioned Cranston's interest in being sole manager on a series of multifamily housing bond deals.

When asked about the letter, Collins said he "had no idea" why Kanuth fowarded the bond proposal to him.

Shortly afterwards, in response to further questioning about his involvement in the the awarding of state contracts, Collins said: "State government was not my business."

Apparently in an effort to shore up its contention that Bill Collins profited from his wife's election as governor, the government also presented evidence Thursday that Collins enjoyed a big boost in income after 1983.

According to his tax returns, Bill Collins' dental practice earned $16,473 in 1980, $18,362 in 1981, $13,227 in 1982, and $1,275 in 1984.

But after Collins was named treasurer of the state Democratic party, following his wife's victory in Nov. 1983, he quit his dental practice, and his yearly income jumped to $60,000, the annual salary of the party post.

Several months later, Collins resigned from the job -- which had previously been an unpaid position -- after criticism that it might represent a conflict of interest.

In other testimony, the prosecution has shown that Bill Collins made a base salary of $60,000 a year as president of his horse-breeding firm, Collins Investments.

Judge Hood said last Friday that he would present instructions to the jury tomorrow, in advance of closing arguments. The court will not be in session on Monday because of Columbus Day, a federal holiday.

Hood said that he expected closing arguments to be completed by late afternoon tomorrow and the case to be presented to the jury Tuesday evening.

After the court recessed on Thursday, Bill Collins' lawyer, Frank Haddad, said he was pleased with his client's testimony.

"He could have made up all kinds of stories to avoid saying he didn't remember things from a decade ago -- but he chose to tell the truth," Haddad said. "I couldn't have hoped for it to go any better."

The 14-member jury -- which includes two alternates -- is composed of 11 women and three men.

Four of the jurors work for the Kentucky state government, according to forms they filed in late May and early June.

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