Ex-Mass. treasurer says lottery ads not his idea

BOSTON (WHDH) -- Former Massachusetts Treasurer Tim Cahill defended himself against corruption charges on Thursday.

Cahill is accused of using lottery advertising money to try and boost his 2010 gubernatorial campaign. He insisted that he approved $1.8 million in state lottery ads “for the best interests” of the lottery.

“They may have succeeded with my political campaign, but I was not going to let anyone succeed in tearing down the treasury,” said Cahill.

Cahill is charged with conspiracy to use his official position to gain an unwarranted privilege and conspiracy to commit procurement fraud.

“I probably knew I wasn’t going to be the governor of the Commonwealth, so I wanted to make sure that we were going to do right by the treasury right to the end,” said Cahill.

Cahill spent nearly two and a half hours on the witness stand Thursday at his corruption trial being questioned by his lawyer. The trial ended for the day before he could be cross-examined by prosecutors.

As he left court, Cahill indicated to 7News that he was pleased with his testimony.

His former campaign manager, Scott Campbell, is being tried on similar charges.

Cahill was expected to continue testifying Friday.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.