Defense: Private investigator manipulated Susan Williams

When Joseph LaBella called to tell Susan Williams that he had found a friend willing to maim or kill her husband, he gave her a warning.

"There's no turning back now," LaBella, an Oceanside private investigator, said on a tape played in court Monday.

"I understand," Williams says as she is unknowingly recorded by Nassau police. LaBella then tells Williams she'll need to decide between "Option 1," which he testified meant seriously hurting her husband Peter, and "Option 2," killing him.

But rather than refer Williams, 44, of Garden City to a hit man, LaBella introduced her to an undercover police officer, he testified. That undercover, posing as a hit man, videotaped the mother of four paying him a $500 deposit on a $20,000 to carry out the second option, prosecutors say.

Susan Williams has pleaded not guilty to second-degree and fourth-degree criminal solicitation, second-degree conspiracy and second-degree criminal possession of a forged instrument. If convicted, she could face a maximum of 81/3 to 25 years in prison.

But on cross-examination, Williams' defense lawyer, John Carman, of Garden City, worked hard to undermine LaBella's credibility. Carman said in his opening argument that LaBella and the undercover officer both manipulated Williams into ordering the hit when she was vulnerable from an ugly divorce and a battle with cervical cancer.

Carman questioned LaBella, who met the defendant through a mutual friend, about his demeanor on the recorded phone conversations with Williams, suggesting that LaBella manipulated her by calling her "cutie," "sweetie" and "baby," to make her feel more comfortable about ordering her husband's murder. LaBella denied that he tried to manipulate Williams.

Carman also questioned LaBella about the website for his investigative company, which Labella admitted inflates his experience. Carman said the website claims that LaBella has protected members of royal families, dignitaries and the federal Witness Protection Program, all of which LaBella admitted he has never done.

"It's just an advertisement," LaBella said, repeatedly mopping his brow while he testified.

LaBella also blushed when Carman asked him about his clothing line, "Joebella Ware," which sells everything from T-shirts to thongs on his company website.

Earlier in the day, Peter Williams testified about his contentious divorce from his wife. It was the second time he testified in the case. He had testified at Williams' first trial, which ended in a mistrial Oct. 29.