O.J. Simpson once said he never wore Bruno Magli shoes and never would. They were ugly and suede, and he'd never wear suede shoes in Buffalo, N.Y., in September.
An FBI shoe expert, however, cast doubt on those claims.The dark Italian-made casual shoes that run $160 a pair not only left the bloody prints beside the bodies of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman - but were on Simpson's feet in a 1993 photograph in Buffalo, FBI expert William Bodziak testified Wednesday.
It is one of only a few new pieces of evidence introduced at the wrongful death trial - and among the most incriminating.
Bodziak, who returns for cross-examination Wednesday, did more than link Simpson to the crime-scene shoes. He also set up Simpson for a major contradiction problem when Simpson begins testifying Friday.
Simpson has denied ever wearing Bruno Magli shoes. "I would have never owned those ugly-a-- shoes," he testified in his Jan. 26 deposition.
In September, following publication of the photo that Bodziak said shows Simpson wearing Bruno Magli shoes, Simpson backed off a little, testifying, "I know I've had similar shoes."
And asked pointblank what shoes he was wearing the day the picture was taken, Simpson said: "I don't know."
Simpson, 49, who was acquitted of murder last year, is being sued by the victims' relatives.
Nearly all the evidence and testimony at the civil trial is a repeat of the criminal trial - although it's been presented faster. The plaintiffs should finish in about six weeks, compared with the six months it took the prosecution to present its case in the first trial.
The major exception to the reruns is the introduction into evidence of the photo a free-lance photographer, Harry Scull, took at a Sept. 26, 1993, Buffalo Bills football game.
The picture, showing Simpson walking through the end zone before the game, sat in storage at Scull's house for months. He eventually fished it out and, through a friend, sold it to the National Enquirer, which published it in April. Scull got $2,500 from the tabloid.
Simpson lawyer Robert Baker said in opening statements that the picture is a fraud - although plaintiffs had the picture authenticated by a former FBI expert.
The picture shows Simpson head to foot, and, since Simpson is walking, also reveals the sole of the right shoe.
Jurors leaned forward in their seats to see the blow-up of the photo and several close-ups, including one done with a computer. Simpson was not in court Wednesday.