take one from charlie louderman. bags. it was money that literally reeked of death. >> some of it had hair with blood stuck to it. some of it had burn marks on it. and i said, what in the hell is that awful damn smell? and billie looked at me and said, you know that's how we're getting that money in here, is on dead bodies coming from kuwait in the caskets. >> reporter: the defense called that claim outrageous. >> just crazy things, crazy. $80,000 or $100,000 in cash coming back in the body cavities of dead soldiers from iraq? i mean, this man had crazy things. >> reporter: the defense attorneys not only challenged the credibility of billie earl and his crew, they told the jurors the real reason frank howard was in contact with the east texas crowd boiled down to one word -- blackmail. >> you take a guy who's been a straight arrow all of his life, has a great reputation in his hometown, i'm sure it would bother him if the people at church knew he had an affair, knew he had a girlfriend, knew he went to las vegas, thi