“Power. Greed. Corruption,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Carrie Cohen began her opening statement today. “This is a case about a powerful politician who betrayed those he was supposed to serve to line his pockets.”

Mr. Silver, 71, is accused of abusing his office to obtain nearly $4 million in illicit payments through two law firms, while saying the income had come from bona fide legal work. He stepped down as speaker after his arrest, and he has pleaded not guilty to charges that include honest services fraud and extortion under the color of official right.

The prosecution alleges that Mr. Silver steered state grants to mesothelioma research to Columbia University and New York Presbyterian Hospital in exchange for a doctor there, Dr. Robert Taub, referring patients to a law firm that sues on behalf of such patients,Weitz & Luxenberg, where Mr. Silver was of counsel and received lucrative payments for referring clients with asbestos cases. In a separate scheme, Mr. Silver is accused of asking two real estate giants—including Glenwood Management, which had business before the state including the renewal of lucrative tax credits—to steer business to a law firm that employed his friend and former counsel, Jay Golberg. In exchange, the prosecution says, Mr. Goldberg paid Mr. Silver kickbacks that were “disguised” as legal fees. Finally, he is accused of laundering some of that money through private investment opportunities that earned him close to another $1 million.

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