The defense presented its closing argument Friday in the federal Michael Miske trial. Miske's attorney telling jurors their client had nothing to do with any of the crimes.
Since January, jurors in the Miske trial have sat through 99 days of testimony. What the jury was told on Friday, was much of what they heard throughout the trial was a lie.
Miske's attorney Michael Kennedy went through each of the 16 counts against their client, attacking the credibility of the government's witnesses and blaming Miske's long-time righthand man, Wayne Miller, for being behind many of the alleged crimes including drug trafficking, assault and kidnapping.
The defense claims Miller lied on the stand and cooperated with authorities as part of a plea deal to avoid a life sentence.
"While you can try to nibble at each individual charge, really what the defense needs to do is, in a bigger picture, convince this jury that all the government witnesses are career offenders, they're rats, they're not believable people," said Alexander Silvert, former federal attorney.
Of the most serious charges -- Murder-In-Aid and the Murder-For-Hire of Jonathan Fraser, the defense said Miske did not order the murder of anyone.
They outlined what they said was shoddy and biased police and FBI investigations into Fraser's disappearance.
"All the defense needs to do is show that there is one reasonable doubt that pokes a hole in the prosecutor's case, and if they can find that one reasonable doubt, then, under the court's instructions, the jurors are being told to find the defendant not guilty," said court analyst, Doug Chin.
The defense wrapped up their argument by showing the jury many projects that Miske's businesses had done for the community and non-profits, some of them are for free.
"Remember, this isn't about innocence. It's about whether the government can prove beyond a reasonable doubt the person is guilty of the charges," said Silvert.
The jury began deliberations and is expected to resume on Monday.