Ex-Honda Official Weakens Testimony About Gifts : Courts: Laguna Hills man says he had no firsthand knowledge that Japanese bosses were aware of dealer kickbacks.

Stanley James Cardiges, a former top official with American Honda Motor Co., admitted Wednesday that he was “stretching” to protect himself when he said he believed his Japanese bosses knew he was taking kickbacks from dealers.

The Laguna Hills resident, continuing to testify in the nationwide kickback and bribery scam, had said on Monday that he had “heard” of gifts of golf clubs, expensive cars and air travel for Japanese officials of American Honda.

But on Wednesday, he said he had no firsthand knowledge of the gifts.

Assistant U.S. Atty. Michael Connolly, chief prosecutor, asked Cardiges to tell the jury everything he knew about his earlier allegations of illegal gifts.

“Firsthand, I know nothing,” Cardiges said. “I was stretching, trying to build a defense.” He admitted that he knew of no Japanese manager who received any gifts from a Honda dealership.

“You were trying to get the jury to not like the Japanese as part of your defense?” Connolly asked.

“Yes,” Cardiges answered.

Cardiges is the government’s key witness at the trial of his former boss, John Billmyer of Raleigh, N.C., and former colleague Dennis Josleyn of Penn Valley, Calif.

Cardiges, 49, pleaded guilty on Feb. 7 to racketeering, conspiracy and fraud charges in what prosecutors say is one of the biggest bribery schemes in the history of the American auto industry.

Prosecutors have charged that from 1979 to 1992, Cardiges and other former American Honda officials received $15 million in cash and merchandise kickbacks for granting franchises of coveted Honda cars, particularly the Acura, as well as steering additional new cars their way.

Attorneys for Billmyer and Josleyn are trying to prove that Koichi Amemiya, American Honda’s chief executive, and other Japanese officials condoned the gift-taking and even accepted gifts themselves.

American Honda has denied the allegation, saying it was defrauded and is a victim of the scam.