DiMasi Trial Continues With Lally's Testimony

The federal corruption trial of former House Speaker Salvatore DiMasi and two co-defendants takes a dramatic turn Wednesday as the fourth defendant takes the stand to testify for the government.

Joseph Lally, a former sales agent for Cognos Inc., is expected to testify about the alleged conspiracy.

The government Tuesday sought to establish DiMasi as a man in desperate financial straits after being elected speaker of the House.

On Wednesday, it will seek to portray Lally as the man who was going to solve DiMasi's problems. Lally has plead guilty to the same charges facing the others as part of a plea deal with federal prosecutors.

Now Lally is expected to lay out the scheme, whereby he allegedly paid kickbacks of $65,000 to DiMasi, $600,000 to DiMasi's accountant Richard Vitale, and $300,000 to DiMasi's best friend, the lobbyist Richard McDonough.

The defense has called Lally a liar, a cheat, and a degenerate gambler — and that's before he takes the stand.