A Bronx state assemblyman showed up late for the start of his New York bribery trial and then shook his head repeatedly as a prosecutor berated him as a politician who sold his office for thousands of dollars.
Democratic Assemblyman Eric Stevenson blamed traffic for arriving about 10 minutes late in Manhattan federal court.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian A. Jacobs told jurors that Stevenson accepted $20,000 in cash bribes in 2012 to help protect a new Bronx adult center from competitors.
Stevenson shook his head repeatedly as Jacobs spoke, nodding in agreement only when the prosecutor said that the key government witness against Stevenson had committed crimes in the past.
A lawyer for Stevenson told jurors they will be wrong if they believe the government's version of the facts.
