PITTSBURGH -- Pictures of brains and spinal cords of dead people and how they were used was among testimony on Tuesday in the case of former Allegheny County Coroner Dr. Cyril Wecht.

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Wecht, who has led inquiries into the deaths of Elvis Presley, JonBenet Ramsey and Vincent Foster among others, is accused of using his government staff as bookkeepers, secretaries, couriers and gofers for his family and his private pathology practice.

Prosecutors said Wecht, 76, illegally used the county workers to cut costs in his private practice, which grossed nearly $9 million from 1997 through 2004. He never made more than $64,000 a year as county coroner.

On Tuesday, Wecht protégé Dr. Bennet Omalu faced intense questioning by Wecht's defense team. The thrust of their questions suggested Omalu never told Wecht that he was using the coroner's office facilities to examine brains for Wecht's private business.

Omalu said he never told Wecht, but that it was common knowledge and had been done before Omalu joined the coroner's office.

Defense attorney Jerry McDevitt walked Omalu through documents and photos showing Omalu did brain tissue analysis even in cases of death by natural causes.

The Wecht team then asked Omalu about a Washington Post profile, which quoted Omalu as calling himself a "brain chaser," an account he scoffed at, but later admitted.

Omalu insisted that examination of the brain in his work is standard protocol. He disputed defense suggestions that he over-inflated his profit on brain tissue slides he had processed at the University of Pittsburgh for Wecht's private work.

Omalu charged Wecht's business $1,000 for the slide work and said his own fee was about $400 of that figure.

When Wecht's attorney pointed out Pitt charged Omalau only $15, Omalu answered that was a charge per slide for as many as 50 slides per case.

Omalu also described on Tuesday the stress of the criminal investigation on colleagues of Wecht. Omalu said former coroner histologist George Hollis came to him stressed out, losing weight.

Omalu said Hollis told him, "I'm not going to tell on the old man."

"I told him, cover yourself by standing by the truth," said Omalu.

Omalu said he also told Hollis to watch out for himself.

McDevett confronted Omalu with an e-mail Omalu sent Wecht in April 2006.

In it, Omalu wrote, "I may still be a target or witness for the FBI. I don't want to do anything to upset them. I'm so afraid."

Omalu, of Nigeria, acknowleged that he's not yet a permanent resident of the U.S. and that being charged with wrongdoing himself could threaten not only his residency but his medical license.

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