SOMERVILLE, N.J. — A trio of Jayson Williams' friends took the stand at the former NBA star's manslaughter trial Tuesday and described how his unintentional shooting of a chauffeur quickly spiraled into a cover-up involving a dozen people.

Through the testimony of the three men, the jury heard that Williams tampered with the death scene, jumped in a swimming pool to cleanse himself of evidence and ordered witnesses to tell police the driver shot himself while alone in the master bedroom of the mansion.

"The defendant said we all needed to have the same story," the first of the witnesses, Craig Culuko, told jurors.

But in spite of their damaging accounts of his behavior after the shooting of Costas "Gus" Christofi, the witnesses offered little to advance the most serious charges against Williams and at times appeared to undercut key parts of the prosecution's case.

Craig Culuko: "He proceeded to try to put Mr. Christofi's prints on the gun."

The men, for example, insisted that what prosecutors describe as cruel taunting of Christofi by Williams at a restaurant before the shooting was only good-natured ribbing typical of the All-Star's personality.

"He likes to kid around a lot. Nobody thought anything of it," said Culuko.

The incident in the restaurant is important because prosecutors contend Williams again targeted the driver for abuse just before the shooting, pointing the gun at him and cursing. Prosecutors must establish recklessness to win a manslaughter conviction.

Williams faces 55 years in prison if he is convicted of the top count, aggravated manslaughter, and other charges. But if he is convicted only of four charges related to the alleged cover-up, his sentence would likely not include prison time.

Williams claims the shooting was an unforeseeable accident and the cover-up was the idea of other witnesses.

Culuko, a special education teacher, John McPartland, a former European basketball pro, and John Gordnick, a personal trainer, were the second, third and fourth of the 12 visitors in Williams' mansion Feb. 14, 2002, to testify. The men initially lied to authorities about the death of Christofi, but as investigators began voicing doubts about the shooting being a suicide, they began cooperating with the prosecution.

None of the men witnessed the actual shooting, but each described the chaotic aftermath. All three said they saw Williams wipe his prints from the gun, and Culuko said that, while the mortally wounded driver struggled for breath, Williams tried to stage the scene to look like a suicide.

"He proceeded to try to put Mr. Christofi's prints on the gun ... He tried to take his hand and rub it on the gun by the trigger," said Culuko.

Culuko testified that the manipulation of the scene occurred before anyone called 911.

McPartland said he saw Williams naked in his swimming pool moments after the shooting, in what prosecutors say was an attempt to remove evidence.

Gordnick testified that Williams, naked and dripping wet, shoved the Armani suit he wore at the time of the shooting at him, saying "Here J.G." Gordnick hid the clothing in his car and later stashed it on a highway overpass. He was charged with tampering with evidence and hindering apprehension and later cut a deal with prosecutors to testify in exchange for having his record expunged.

But still friends

Much of the trio's testimony appeared to help Williams, however. Both Culuko and Gordnick said Williams' brother, Victor, called 911 within minutes of the shooting. Prosecutors said in pretrial papers that the shooting may have occurred 14 minutes before the emergency call was placed.

Culuko also described Williams as shouting, "We got to get help! We got to get help!"

McPartland testified that it was Culuko's brother, Kent, not Williams who told him to tell police Christofi shot himself.

Gordnick noted that Williams never told him to get rid of the clothing and that he only assumed he should do so. He also said that, when he decided to turn the clothing over to police, he sought permission from Williams.

"You do whatever you have to do," he quoted Williams as telling him.

McPartland also testified that Williams gave him and several other men his blessing during a meeting on a basketball court 10 days after the shooting. "You guys have to tell the truth, and I'll have to deal with the consequences," McPartland quoted the one-time All-Star as saying.

John McPartland told jurors that Jayson Williams later OK'd his cooperating with investigators.

Their testimony was in mark contrast to the first houseguest to testify. Dean Bumbaco, who testified Monday, said Williams belittled Christofi before the shooting and masterminded the cover-up later. Bumbaco, a contractor, told jurors he never considered himself Williams' friend and did not even like the Nets.

Each of the men worked in some capacity on the periphery of the game Williams, a New Jersey Nets center who once held an $86 million contract, once dominated. Culuko and his brother run a youth basketball camp.

McPartland, who stands 6 feet 8 inches, played for an Austrian team, and Gordnick trains basketball players. Each recalled outings with Williams before the shooting, and both Culuko and McPartland said they still considered Williams a friend.

McPartland shook hands with defense lawyers as he left court. And Culuko nodded to Williams and his wife, Tanya, on his way to the witness stand. He looked so often toward the defendant while testifying that prosecutor Katharine Errickson reprimanded him.

Gordnick's cross-examination is set for Wednesday morning.