The first day of the Edgar Steele murder-for-hire trial in federal court today was a doozy. After opening arguments, initial witnesses included Larry Fairfax, the hit man-turned-FBI-informant, who told the court, "Mr. Steele was getting agitated, and he said if i didn't take care of the job he would find someone else to do the job, and me.” Jurors also listened to tapes of conversations between Steele and Fairfax about a plot to murder Steele's wife, Cyndi, and her mother.

In the first conversation, on June 9, Steele is heard agreeing to give Fairfax a $400 “advance” to pay for his trip to Oregon City, where Cyndi Steele was visiting her mother. Steele tells Fairfax, “I'll take it out of your ... hide; you gotta get this job done.” He said a car crash could trigger an insurance policy payment. “You've got a big payday riding on this one. I've set it up that way on purpose,” Steele says; you can read more on S-R reporter Meghann Cuniff's "Sirens and Gavels" blog here.