LAS VEGAS (Court TV) — The widow of real estate mogul Ron Rudin was more concerned about gaining control of her husband's money than about his disappearance, testified the murdered millionaire's business associate.

"She was Scarlett O'Hara, with this little girl voice," said Harold Boscutti, the trustee of Ron Rudin's estate, as he recalled a telephone conversation with Margaret Rudin just days after the Dec. 18, 1994, disappearance.

As the jury listened to the white-haired Boscutti recount his dealings with Margaret Rudin, a photo of her murdered husband stared at them from a large-screen television.

"She said Ron was having an affair, that she had a detective following him and that $15,000 was missing from Ron's desk," said Boscutti, describing the conversation he ever had with Margaret Rudin.

The gray-haired widow, who faces a possible life sentence if convicted, looked directly at the witness stand when she wasn't taking notes or handing her lawyer, Michael Amador, documents.

Rudin later told Boscutti that "it would be so nice if she could be a trustee as well," he said. She asked Boscutti to meet her outside her antique shop, he said.

Boscutti, Rudin's business associate since 1967, was named a trustee of the $11 million estate, while Sharron Cooper, another of Rudin's business associates, was named co-trustee.

Though Margaret Rudin was the beneficiary of 60 percent of her husband's estate, he secretly issued a directive stating that, should he die a violent death, any beneficiary suspected should be cut off completely. Ron Rudin's body was found shot, decapitated and burned more than a month after he vanished.

"She would have liked it if Sharron Cooper were not the trustee and she were made the trustee," he said, recounting their meeting outside the widow's antique shop.

Margaret Rudin also seemed more interested in Lee Canyon, her husband's multimillion-dollar real estate deal, than in his whereabouts, he said.

"I kind of felt I was not being told everything or I was being mislead. It just didn't ring true," he said.

A salesman his entire career, Boscutti said that he knows how to read people — and that Margaret Rudin was insincere.

"I've been around people enough. I wasn't comfortable with it. Something wasn't right," he said. "I think she was angling for something."

The defense maintains that Rudin was a shady businessman and suggests that it's no coincidence his disappearance coincided with an appointment regarding Lee Canyon.

Boscutti, the last person known to talk to Rudin, said that the night before his disappearance, Rudin seemed upbeat and was looking forward to the business meeting.

"It was his crown jewel," Boscutti said of the lucrative deal. "He was excited about it. It was important to him. As a matter of fact it was the most excited he had been for a long time."

The defense, however, has contended that Boscutti and Cooper are the ones with an angle. During opening statements last week, defense lawyer Amador accused the two business associates, claiming they were greedy and trying to cut Margaret Rudin out of her late husband's fortune.

During direct examination by prosecutor Chris Owens, Boscutti seemed to try to debunk the defense's greed theory, explaining why he eventually stepped down as trustee of Rudin's estate.

"I didn't need the aggravation nor did I need the extra money," he said. "At the age I was then I wanted to look forward to fishing and things like that."

Cooper, he said, also resigned her position after Margaret Rudin accused her of fraud during proceedings about Ron Rudin's estate. "She said, 'Forget it, I'm not going to subject myself to this,'" he said about Cooper.

Rudin's estate eventually wound its way through probate court, and a trial ended with a settlement in which Margaret Rudin agreed to accept $600,000, just enough to cover her legal bills.

During his cross, Amador tried to reinforce the defense's theory that Boscutti was interested in Ron Rudin's money.

"You were aware that Ron Rudin had substantial assets, weren't you?" asked Amador.

"I knew he had a lot of bills," Boscutti shot back, prompting laughter from courtroom observers.

He also got Boscutti to admit on the stand that he ultimately received $1.25 million and $1.5 million from Rudin's estate in addition to being paid $75 an hour to serve as trustee.

Amador also asked if Boscutti was privy to Ron Rudin's business dealings regarding Lee Canyon, but Boscutti said he only knew what Rudin told him and did not play a direct role.

Out of the presence of the jury, Judge Joseph Bonaventure granted the defense's bid to ask Boscutti about illegal business practices by Ron Rudin.

The jury then heard Boscutti admit that Rudin had properties sold under phony names — and the deeds notarized by Cooper — as a ploy to set the market value of the property and ensure a higher selling price. Despite the implication of fraud, the trust later sought to have those properties returned legally as part of the its holdings.

Cooper ultimately became the sole trustee of Lee Canyon, Boscutti said.

While the defense made strides in painting an unflattering portrait of Cooper, who has yet to testify, Amador also attacked Boscutti for leaving the widow penniless. The trustee secured a top-notch legal team for the trust, which had "the weight, the history, the power, the connections," Amador charged, while giving Rudin "nothing to fight you back with."

The trust evicted Margaret Rudin from her home, refused to give her any money to pursue legal action and even repossessed her car, Boscutti admitted.

But he defended his actions, saying those assets were property of the trust, and as trustee he was acting under Ron Rudin's directive.

"We were concerned with doing the right thing," Boscutti said.

The jurors seemed restless toward the end of Boscutti's testimony, which lasted nearly the entire day and was clogged with minutiae about real estate properties and financial records.

Another key witness, Rudin's bookkeeper, also began to testify during the last half hour court was in session. Sharon Melton alleged that Margaret Rudin was a suspicious woman, who frequently tried to pry into her husband's affairs.

Sharon Melton

Ron Rudin ordered his office not to allow Margaret into the building until after 5 p.m. and took measures to stop her from listening in on his phone conversations, Melton said.

The two women, both antique dealers, initially hit it off and would have lunch together or shop for antiques.

Melton characterized the Rudins' marriage as "shaky" and "up and down — mostly down."

"They were constantly fighting," she said.

Her testimony will continue Thursday.