http://www.edgeonthenet.com/?98477ALBANY, N.Y. - For more than a decade, state Senate Republican leader Joseph Bruno was a top power broker in New York. The backslapping former boxer had more bounce in his step than aides half his age and was gruffly unapologetic over the millions in pork projects that he grabbed for his upstate district.
On Monday, he faces trial on charges that could tarnish his legacy, send him to prison and serve as a de facto indictment of Albany’s oft-criticized political culture.
Now 80, but still with the impeccable suits, thick silver hair perfectly groomed, and a boxer’s body still toned by pounding the punching bag, Bruno is taking on the fight with characteristic defiance.
Federal prosecutors accuse him of collecting $3.2 million in commissions and gifts over 13 years in return for using his state influence to benefit a dozen labor unions and three private businessmen. He has pleaded not guilty and denounced the eight-count January indictment as a politically motivated fishing expedition.
The trial is expected to last weeks.
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