LAS VEGAS " With a key character waiting to testify, prosecutors in the O.J. Simpson armed robbery-kidnapping trial have begun entering audio and video recordings as evidence against the former football star and a co-defendant.
Trial resumes Wednesday with a taped appearance by an FBI forensic audio expert whose appearance was videotaped last month for presentation to the jury while he is traveling outside the country.
From a downtown Las Vegas hotel, Thomas Riccio, the colorful collectibles broker who arranged the meeting between Simpson and the two memorabilia dealers, told The Associated Press by telephone that he was ready and waiting to be called to the courthouse.
"They told me, 'Anytime from late Tuesday to early Thursday,"' Riccio said. He said prosecutors told him to expect to be on the stand for up to a day and a half and also asked him to "refrain from talking before I testify."
"I hope they don't just have to go by what I say," added Riccio, who said he gave authorities more than 10 hours of audio recorded before, during and after the Sept. 13, 2007, alleged armed robbery in a Las Vegas casino hotel room. "All they have to do is listen to my tapes."
On Tuesday, surveillance experts from the Palace Station and Palms hotels in Las Vegas provided testimony about videos showing the comings and goings of Simpson, the five men who accompanied him, Riccio, and memorabilia dealers Bruce Fromong and Alfred Beardsley.
Prosecutors also called an FBI forensic audio analyst who said he downloaded digital recordings of the confrontation.