ALBANY — Prosecutors pledged yesterday to prove that former Sen. Joseph Bruno “exploited his office” to get rich as the once-powerful legislative leader’s federal corruption trial got under way in Albany.
To start a case that promises a rare glimpse into the Capitol’s pay-to-play culture, Assistant US Attorney Elizabeth Coombe promised to show how Bruno sought to conceal his tangled financial ties with individuals who had business before the state.
Much of the feds’ case centers on commissions the former Senate majority leader received from two investment companies over 13 years for introducing them to union leaders who later helped broker pension deals with the firms.
“They came to see Sen. Bruno because he had the power to make things happen,” Coombe told jurors in a half-hour opening statement.
Bruno “exploited his office and position for his own personal enrichment and gain,” she said, making $3.2 million over the years.
Coombe said she would provide examples of various political favors Bruno paid labor unions and others in return for their business, including his help to secure an unspecified legislative win for the New York City Correction Officers’ Benevolent Association.
Bruno has pleaded not guilty to each of the eight felony counts in an indictment handed up against him in January.
The indictment came just months after he unexpectedly resigned his seat and the leadership post he had held since 1994.
If convicted in the trial before District Court Judge Gary L. Sharpe, the 80-year-old former lawmaker faces up to 20 years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine for each count.
Bruno — wearing a pinstripe blue suit, a light blue shirt and a maroon tie — slouched slightly in his chair during proceedings and occasionally turned back to glance at family members seated in the gallery.
“I expect to be fully exonerated because I truly feel I did nothing wrong,” Bruno said to reporters during a recess.
The senator has tapped what remains of his campaign account and hired white-collar-defense guru Abbe Lowell, whose former clients included infamous Beltway lobbyist Jack Abramoff, to lead his defense team.