Molina was first tied to the vote-buying operation by Hoskins.

HOSKINS' ROLE
Witnesses placed him at the vote-buying scene

In interviews with The Herald before the Jan. 11 story, Hoskins had denied taking part in the operation behind St. John church -- though he said he had worked in cash-for-votes schemes in "two or three" other campaigns.

But Hoskins said he was near the church that day and saw the crowd. He said he later heard that Molina was responsible for the operation.

"The only name I could get was Molina, " Hoskins said. "He was a big Suarez backer." Later that day, The Herald showed him a dated photo of Molina with a mustache. "That looks a lot like him -- but he didn't have a mustache, " Hoskins said. Molina, in fact, was cleanshaven during the campaign.

In that earlier interview, Hoskins said he had worked as an unpaid volunteer for Suarez during the runoff. He said he was paid for one day's work during the Nov. 4 primary by then-Mayor Joe Carollo's campaign.

But in the Jan. 11 Herald story, five witnesses said Hoskins was directly involved in the $10-a-vote scheme: He checked voting cards, wrote down names on a clipboard, and paid off voters when they returned from the absentee field station.

Most voters and other witnesses told The Herald that a white man seemed to be overseeing the operation, though he kept his distance -- standing near the van and talking on a cellular phone.

Two witnesses said the white man they saw was not Molina. Others said they were not sure.

"It's definitely not any of these guys, " said Donald Knowles, manager of the city-owned Gibson Park next to St. John church, when shown a group of pictures that included Molina. "This guy was young, I would say no more than his early 40s. Tall, slender. It looked like he worked out."

Mary Ludlow, one of the $10 voters, told The Herald she saw two white men at the scene. Hoskins also has told investigators there was a second white man accompanying Molina that day, though investigators have not been able to confirm his identity.

MEETING INVESTIGATORS
Hoskins gives statement outlining the scheme

After the Jan. 11 story, defense attorney Grey took Hoskins to meet with state investigators. Against Grey's advice, Hoskins gave a statement outlining the scheme: "Do you want to make $500?" Hoskins said Molina asked him. The deal: Hoskins would get $500 cash for helping to distribute literature and recruit voters, and a city job later if Suarez won.

Hoskins said the St. John operation seemed like a spur-of-the-moment idea. In his statement to investigators, he said Molina found him on Nov. 12 and told him to come along to the church -- never telling him he was intending to pay voters.

Hoskins' job was to ask people for ID cards and make sure they were qualified to vote -- then refer them to Molina, who would take some of them aside and talk to them quietly, out of Hoskins' earshot.

The voters would get into the van for a ride to County Hall, where elections department staffers were accepting early ballots in the mayoral runoff. Those votes were counted as absentees, since they were cast outside the voters' home precinct.

When the van came back, Molina asked the returning voters to describe the scene at County Hall as proof they entered the absentee polling place, Hoskins said.

Hoskins said Molina didn't trust him with the money. Molina would dole out the $10 bills to Hoskins one or two at a time, and Hoskins would in turn hand them to voters. Three voters said Hoskins -- not Molina -- told them to vote for Suarez.