Trials: The Fat Man's Song

In the old joke, the opera is not over until the fat lady sings. In the trial of John De Lorean for conspiracy to distribute co caine, one courtroom observer noted last week, "It all comes down to the fat man." The fat man is James Timothy Hoffman, the Government informant who helped orchestrate the video taped hotel-room negotiations in October 1982 that are key to the Government's charges against De Lorean. Defense Lawyer Howard Weitzman, having rattled a previous Government witness, predicted confidently, "I'm going to chop Hoffman up into little pieces."

After 14 days on the stand in...