78-year-old Leonard Fassler spent several hours under the direct examination of Assistant U.S. Attorney William Pericak, often offering less than clear answers to questions about his business connections to Joe Bruno.
The connection apparently began in 1993 when Fassler says the senator said to him, "I'd like to do some consulting work and I think I could be very helpful to your business."
Fassler said they talked about the ethical considerations, but that he may have been confused whether Bruno had gotten the blessing of the legislative ethics committee.
From there, Fassler went through a series of business dealings of companies bought and sold and names change frequently. That included $4000 monthly consulting fees for Bruno, a payment to him to purchase stock in a company partially owned by Fassler, and a partnership in a company called Microknowledge that apparently had state contracts for computer training.
A letter of agreement between Fassler and Bruno however spelled out that if any of the companies or subsidiaries bid on state contracts, it would be without Bruno's involvment.
Defense Attorney Abbe Lowell tried to counter the deluge of information by saying Fassler and Bruno had known each other for 20 years before their consulting agreement, and that Fassler had reviewed thousands of documents and made agreements with hundreds of other employees since that one.
Early on in the testimony, Bruno again told reporters his feeling that the proceedings will go his way.
Joseph Bruno said, "I was a businessman and I had a perfect right to do business and there isn't one single thing that's been going on these last several days that refutes that."
Also on the stand, former Senate Aide and now lobbyist John Cordo, who testified about advocacy groups meeting with lawmakers and staffs about legislation, and that the senator had never singled out a business or labor union for special treatment.
In the end, a lot of information brought out and it may be safe to say, a lot of unanswered questions.
