A man who survived a shooting at the Pali Golf Course in 2004 that left two men dead testified in federal court this morning about the instant a bullet smashed into his face.

"The shell went through my nose and shattered the lower part of my skull," Tino Sao said. "It's still in there, you know. They couldn't take it out. It kept moving.

"I can't breathe good ... sleep with a machine."

Sao then began to weep and Judge Susan Oki Mollway ordered a recess.

Sao is to resume testifying later today.

His testimony comes in the federal racketeering trial against Ethan "Malu" Motta and Rodney Joseph Jr.

Prosecutors allege Motta and Joseph were members of a group that provided security to local gambling operations. They say Motta and Joseph arranged to meet with a rival group at the golf course and opened fire.

Iepo Taliese and Romelius Corpus Jr. were killed. Sao was shot in the face and left for dead, prosecutors say.

Nixon Maumalanga was the only one of the four men to escape without injury.

He testified last week that he ran when he saw Motta emerge from a car with a gun. He said he heard Taliese identify Motta and Joseph as the men who shot him.