By JANET FRANKSTON LORIN
Associated Press

TRENTON, N.J. - "Sopranos" creator David Chase took the stand Tuesday to describe the services provided by a former judge seeking compensation for his contributions to the hit mob drama.

At issue is whether the services Robert Baer provided 12 years during Chase's development of "The Sopranos" pilot on cable television's HBO channel should be compensated, and if so, their value. He claims that he supplied ideas for the series and never got credit.

Baer, also an aspiring screenwriter and former prosecutor, arranged meetings with experts during a three-day tour of New Jersey mob sites in 1995.

Baer's attorney finished presenting his case Monday.

Chase's attorney, Peter Skolnik, had planned to question his client for at least two hours Tuesday morning.

Also expected to testify were an expert witness, Jake Jacobson, and Dan Castleman, the Manhattan district attorney who provided consulting services to Chase after Fox Broadcasting declined to pick up "The Sopranos" and Chase needed a "true Mafia expert" to help him as he rewrote the script. HBO later picked it up.

Baer testified that he declined Chase's offer of payment several times but said Chase agreed to "take care of him" if the show became a hit.

In court documents, Chase has called Baer "self-delusional."

Chase said he was "keenly aware of a ‘mob presence' in New Jersey" because he grew up in the Garden State.