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“It would have been nice to hear more from the bishop,” one juror remarked after the trial. “He played deaf, dumb and blind up there.”22

One hurdle to Pilla’s victim-credibility was the job Smith got in Columbus. Pilla testified that Bishop Griffin had called him several weeks after Smith resigned—a surprising phone call, said Pilla, who then read from a letter he had sent Griffin: “At no time did you ask for, nor did I give a recommendation.” Griffin did not testify: Smith’s job was irrelevant to Zgoznik’s charges. And so Pilla read the letter—his self-defense—on how another bishop had hired Joe Smith.

As prosecution and church lawyers sparred over what various witnesses should or could not say, more hushed huddles ensued at the bench.

“I’m beginning to feel like the judge in the O.J. Simpson case with all of these sidebars,” Her Honor said at one point. “I don’t normally work like this.”23

When Zrino Jukic’s secretly taped conversation was presented, Anton Zgoznik’s scramble to keep himself from being the fall guy was on full display. “We’ll say they wanted us to keep a confidential payroll going on,” Anton tells Zrino, “because they wanted to compensate the key executives of the diocese. It’s gonna be our word against theirs.”

Later, he says, “Zrino, we did not kick back any money.”

“I know, I know,” replies Zrino. “We got sucked in. We didn’t do anything”—though Zrino was sucking in Anton via the digital device in his sock.24

When Anton Zgoznik took the stand his biggest challenge was to rebut the black image of himself from the tape and Zrino Jukic’s knifing testimony.

“I was the only one of my family born here,” he began. “My father died when I was in college. And, you know, we had no aunts or uncles, so in essence, I had to finance a lot of my education … with the support of my mother.” Recounting his employment history, the founding of his firm as chief diocesan vendor of financial services, he began rushing, giving longer, nervous answers, apologizing to judge and jury. But Anton Zgoznik was emphatic on having met with Wright to review Smith’s job and the contested payments of $185,000 and $85,000. In those discussions, he learned the diocese had assets of $3 billion. Details like that do not come from thin air. How had he gotten the money to pay Smith?

Basically, what I did is find unrestricted money that was sitting in the Finance Office, and basically, you know, I found that pocket of money and moved that money into their checking account.

Now, that money was held as like a liability on their books, but it was really unrestricted. Once the money was moved from that investment account, for that liability into their checking account, the Diocese would have enough to make a payment to cover funds for Mr. Smith.

Under Siegel’s questioning, Zgoznik grew flustered, volunteering, “I was not happy about taking money off the books, and I told Smith and Father Wright, you guys have to go another way. Taking money off the books is not right for me or the Catholic Church, Mr. Siegel. I was concerned about the appearance of doing something like that behind closed doors.”

Emotions welling, Zgoznik went far beyond the question about how the second check was written: “I am on trial because they don’t want to take responsibility for their decision making. And you know what? They are human beings, but they are blaming the wrong person!”

Huge and shaking, he spun into a choking carousel of self-defense: “Yes, I had good understanding of the Diocese, but I earned my work unequivocally, categorically. Anton Zgoznik would never buy the work! I would never buy the work. I would rather take a gun to my head than steal from my own religion! This is my church we are talking about, my church to House of God that I love. I would rather take a gun to my head, and if I get convicted, Mr. Siegel, kill me, please. Because anybody that takes money from his own religion should die! I deserve to die. Anton Zgoznik doesn’t deserve to live—”

“Sir!” interjected Judge Aldrich.

“—if he pays the kickbacks,