Prosecutors in Henley Case Build Paper Trail : Courts: Bank records, car rental receipts and other documents tie Rams player to cocaine ring, prosecution alleges.

Federal prosecutors started building a paper trail of bank records, car rental receipts and other documents on Thursday they say connect Ram cornerback Darryl Henley and four other men to an alleged cross-country drug-trafficking ring.

The documents, seized by federal drug agents during a search of Henley’s home in Brea, came during a day of testimony that also included allegations of witness tampering and the conclusion of a key prosecution witness’s time on the stand.

Henley, who remains free on $200,000 bail, and the co-defendants in the case have all pleaded not guilty to the charges against them.

Kevin McLaughlin, a special agent with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, said agents seized a number of documents from Henley’s home, including a checkbook and a car rental receipt that were in Henley’s name, but included different addresses in Upland and Ontario. Also seized was a handwritten paper listing bills and payoffs involving large sums of money.

Agents also took photographs of two kitchen drawers stuffed with boxes of plastic wrap, a material used to wrap the cocaine seized in the case, McLaughlin said.

Under questioning from defense attorneys, McLaughlin said he did not take the plastic wrap from the home or analyze the boxes for fingerprints.

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Earlier in the day, Tracy Ann Donaho finished nearly a week of testimony on the stand, insisting that she is not trying to put Henley or anyone else in jail to save herself.

The former Ram cheerleader said her agreement to cooperate with the U.S. attorney’s office includes only a requirement that she tell the truth about the events that led to her arrest on a drug conspiracy charge in July, 1993, and not that she try to incriminate anyone.

“What would be the impact on your sentence if you lied in court?” asked Assistant U.S. Atty. John Rayburn.

“That I would have a horrible sentence,” Donaho replied.

Donaho, who has pleaded guilty, faces 10 years to life in prison.

But a defense attorney for Henley pointed out that Donaho was eager to cooperate with police almost immediately after her arrest and made several telephone calls to Henley at the direction of police in an effort to get him to incriminate himself.

Henley and Donaho are among eight people indicted by a federal grand jury on charges of cocaine possession and conspiracy to operate an illicit drug network from the football player’s home.

Prosecutors allege that Henley, 28, seduced the then-19-year-old Donaho with money, celebrity and an expensive trip to Las Vegas into carrying suitcases to Atlanta and Memphis that contained cocaine.

Donaho testified that Henley told her she would be working for his friend, co-defendant Willie McGowan, by carrying real estate cash in the suitcases. She was arrested at the Atlanta airport carrying a suitcase containing about 25 pounds of cocaine.

But Henley’s lawyers have contended that Donaho is wrongfully accusing the football player to avoid prison at the direction of her father, a former police officer.

Prosecutors on Thursday also focused on the role of another co-defendant, Garey West, in the alleged drug ring.

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Amy Thompson, a friend of West’s wife in Memphis, testified that West brought Donaho to the apartment she shared with her former boyfriend for a couple of hours on the afternoon of July 3, 1993. Thompson, who was unable to identify Donaho in person in court, said the woman, anxious to get home to California, soon left for the airport, and West returned the next day to retrieve a suitcase. Thompson said she did not know what was in the suitcase.

Months later, after receiving a summons to testify before a federal grand jury, Thompson said a woman called and told her she should ignore the summons and refuse to answer any questions from authorities.

“She said she was working for Garey West, and I’m not for sure, but I believe she said Darryl Henley too,” Thompson testified.

Thompson said she did testify before the grand jury and answered all questions.

Testimony in the case resumes today.