Petters trial will have a strong cast of characters

PETTERS TRIAL WILL HAVE A STRONG CAST OF CHARACTERS

These are some of the principal players in the trial of Wayzata businessman Tom Petters:

The judge: Richard Kyle, a St. Paul native who was in private practice with Briggs and Morgan for 29 years before he was appointed to the federal bench by President George H. W. Bush in 1992.

The prosecutors: Assistant U.S. Attorney Joe Dixon, chief of the economic crime section of the U.S. attorney's office; John Marti, first assistant to U. S. Attorney B. Todd Jones; Timothy Rank, an assistant U.S. attorney for the last five years who was in the Minnesota attorney general's office for six years before that.

The defense team: Jon Hopeman, a former federal prosecutor who prosecuted the players behind the failure of Midwest Federal Savings and Loan; Paul Engh, a sole practitioner with several criminal acquittals on his résumé who is known for his pithy prose in court filings.

Potential witnesses:

• Deanna Coleman, vice president of Petters Co. Inc. (PCI), who first told the government about the alleged fraud and pleaded guilty to conspiracy.

• Robert White, Excelsior, chief financial officer of PCI who pleaded guilty to mail fraud and illegal monetary transactions.

• Larry Reynolds, Los Angeles businessman who pleaded guilty to one charge of money laundering conspiracy; Michael Catain, a Shorewood businessman who pleaded guilty to one count of money laundering conspiracy.

• James Wehmhoff, an accountant who helped prepare tax returns; he pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit tax evasion and assisting in the filing of false tax returns.

DAVID PHELPS