JACKSON (AP) — Opening arguments in the federal trial of Mayor Frank Melton, accused in the sledgehammer attack on a suspected crack house, are scheduled to begin Monday.

The case has become a spectacle for Mississippi’s largest city, complete with allegations of vigilante justice and accusations that the government’s star witness was coerced into cooperating with rumors of sexual misconduct.

Melton and his former bodyguard, Michael Recio, face three felony charges — and a maximum 25-year sentence if convicted — for damage to a duplex apartment in August 2006.

Prosecutors say Melton, 59, had been drinking scotch the night he directed a group of young men, some with criminal records, to use sticks and sledgehammers to bust the home’s windows and tear down walls.

Melton and Recio pleaded not guilty. The first-term mayor has not denied participating in the home’s destruction. A gag order prohibits him from discussing the case, but in December he acknowledged making mistakes while in office, but called them “mistakes of passion.”

He was elected in 2005 on a promise to root out crime in Mississippi’s largest city.

“People tell you they want to get something done and when you get it done they criticize the way you do it,” Melton said at the time. “It’s human nature.”

Melton and Recio are charged with violating the constitutional rights of the duplex owner and tenant. A separate charge alleges they violated those rights under color of law. A third charge alleges the men committed a crime while in possession of a firearm.

Melton and Recio were acquitted on state charges related to duplex attack after a high-profile trial in April 2007. The defense in that case argued that Melton’s intentions were honorable in trying to rid the community of a haven of illegal activity.

Prosecutors in the federal case, however, have a witness not available in the state trial. Marcus Wright, Melton’s other former bodyguard, pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor and agreed to testify against his former boss.

Melton and Wright had been close, but it didn’t take long after WRight’s plea deal in October for the defense team to attack his character and motives. Defense lawyers wanted to present evidence about an unsubstantiated claim that Wright had sex with male prostitutes as a way to discredit him. The defense claimed prosecutors used the allegation to coerce Wright into cooperating.

The judge will only allow the defense to ask Wright if he was aware of an “allegation” against him and if that played a role in his decision to plead guilty. The attorneys in the case were instructed not to go into specifics.

Jury selection took an entire week as U.S. District Judge Daniel Jordan III tried to find 12 impartial jurors and three alternates. The jury pool of about 100 people was called from 45 counties in south Mississippi. Still, most of the potential jurors had heard of the case and many of them said they already had formed opinions. Numerous people were excused after saying Melton was only trying to fight drugs. A few said they’d already decided he was guilty.

Melton is a former television executive and one-time head of the state narcotics agency who made a name for himself with a tough-talking opinion segment called “The Bottom Line” on the station he ran. He was elected by a landslide in 2005 after running on a tough-on-crime platform.

He soon became a fixture in rough neighborhoods, carrying guns and participating in police checkpoints. But authorities said he went too far with his unorthodox crime fighting techniques.