A witness in the trial of Richard Scrushy, former CEO of HealthSouth Corp. has given a vivid picture of his pervasive management style. The testimony is likely to be highly damaging to the defendant. The witness was however for the defence.

Jim Whitten, a former vice-president of HealthSouth was giving evidence on behalf of Scrushy.

The style was one produced an aggressive marketing machine, devised by Scrushy. Development included brainstorming ideas for TV shows and magazines.

Whitten, had even told FBI agents during the investigateion that "nothing" went on at HealthSouth that Scrushy did not know about. Later he confirmed that he had told the FBI that Scrushy made incorrect statements about HealthSouth stock on television.

The central pivot of the defence is that Scrushy was in the dark regarding the alleged $2.7bn fraud.

American media reports, suggest that Whittens body language on the stand during his testimony, probably did not help. In particular a number of winks directly to Scrushy.

The charges faced by Scrushy include, fraud, conspiracy, money laundering and obstruction of justice. He is also the first CEO to stand trial accused of violating the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.

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