SOMERVILLE, N.J. — Before he cut a deal with prosecutors, the star witness against Jayson Williams sought a "payoff" from the former NBA star and was denied, a private investigator testified Tuesday at the athlete's manslaughter trial.

The defense investigator told jurors that retired basketball pro Benoit Benjamin, a one-time teammate of Williams, called him a month after the fatal shooting of a chauffeur and requested an interview with "certain considerations."

"He said he was in need of money and also in need of a job," said Adam Mangino, a retired Drug Enforcement Agent hired by Williams as an investigator after the Feb. 14, 2002, shooting.

Mangino said he agreed to meet with the 7-foot-tall hoopster in Louisiana, but only after informing him that "there wasn't any way we were going to talk about any money, any job, or any payoff of any kind."

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Less than a month later, Benjamin hammered out an immunity deal with prosecutors. His testimony earlier this month was the most damning of the trial. He told jurors he saw Williams pull the trigger of a shotgun before it discharged and killed driver Costas "Gus" Christofi. He also said Williams called Christofi a "motherf---er" immediately before the blast.

Mangino, however, said that, during the March 15, 2002, meeting at a Monroeville, La., restaurant, Benjamin specifically said no words were exchanged before the shot.

"He said he believed nothing was said between the two," the private investigator said.

Mangino's testimony is important for the defense because Williams maintains he did not see Christofi before the shooting and that Benjamin lied on the witness stand out of jealousy and a desire to please prosecutors. Williams claims he was trying to point the 12-gauge Browning Citori away from other houseguests when the chauffeur entered the room unexpectedly. His lawyers blame the gun malfunction on debris they say was lodged in its trigger mechanism.

When he testified, Benjamin said that he purposefully lied to the defense investigator because he did not trust him and that Mangino "grossly falsified" the statements he did make. He acknowledged, however, that he had hoped to "latch on" to a job through Williams.

Mangino undercut Benjamin's suggestion that the defense was coercing him to cooperate. He said Benjamin picked him up at the airport in Louisiana, and their conversation lasted only a half hour.

On cross-examination by Assistant Hunterdon County Prosecutor Katharine Errickson, Mangino acknowledged that he offered to refer Benjamin to a "very prominent, well-respected" defense attorney in New Jersey.

But he denied her suggestion that he "twisted" Benjamin's words after he refused to cooperate.

Some comic relief

Mangino was one of three witnesses to testify for Williams Tuesday. Troy Jackson, a former Harlem Globetrotter who described the defendant as "one of my best friends," followed the detective to the stand. Jackson was ostensibly called to challenge a tiny portion of the testimony of prosecution witness Kent Culuko, but in the end, his turn on the stand seemed designed to burnish Williams' image and perhaps provide comic relief.

Defense attorney Billy Martin asked the 6-foot-10 Jackson his weight.

"Three-seventy, 375, give or take breakfast," Jackson replied, prompting giggles from jurors and from the ordinarily dour Williams.

The 28-year-old said he met Williams when his brother, Houston Rockets guard Mark Jackson, played with him at St. John's University.

Although Superior Court Judge Edward Coleman frequently chided Martin to limit his questions to impeaching Culuko, the witness frequently strayed, telling jurors that the defendant was "depressed" after the shooting. He showed them pictures of the antique cars his friend restored as a hobby.

Jackson also explained the name of Williams' sprawling property, the "Who Knew? Estates," saying it referred to the basketball star's journey from "the streets of New York" to wealth and fame.

"Who knew I'd wind up being so blessed?" he quoted Williams.

Jackson also disparaged Culuko, a former Williams friend who testified for the prosecution. He accused Culuko of "always hanging around, leaching on Jay" before the shooting.

He said Culuko and another friend asked Williams a week or so after the shooting what they should tell police. Williams replied, "Just tell the truth." Although two other witnesses have recalled this conversation, Culuko did not mention it when he testified.

On cross-examination, Errickson pounced on this testimony.

"Even 10 days later this defendant was still telling them what to do?" she asked.

Jackson conceded he was.

Prosecutors claim Williams told his friends to lie to police as part of a cover-up.

Debris revisited

Also Tuesday, a second defense ballistics expert testified debris in the 10-year-old shotgun may have caused it to misfire. John Butters, a private engineering consultant from Texas, said grime and dirt in the trigger mechanism of the gun was "the most probable cause" of Christofi's shooting.

"It is possible for this shotgun to discharge in the absence of a willfully pulled trigger," he said.

Under cross-examination by First Assistant Hunterdon County Prosecutor Steven Lember, Butters acknowledged that he had never tested the actual weapon and had relied on photographs and measurements of other experts.

He also noted that Butters made his business testifying against manufacturers of a wide range of products, from televisions to cattle prods to guns.

"Sir, in the course of your work as an expert you have testified against every major gun manufacturer in the country?" asked Lember.

Butters said he was not sure, but agreed, "I testified against a bunch of them,"

If convicted, Williams faces 55 years in prison. Testimony in the trial, now in its eighth week, resumes Wednesday morning.

The judge told lawyers to report to court an hour and a half before jurors to argue unspecified motions. A gag order prevents parties in the case from talking, but some courthouse observers speculated that the motions might relate to Williams' testimony. In his opening statement, defense lawyer Martin promised jurors the defendant would explain the shooting.