(New York (NY Times) – US State Senator John L. Sampson went on trial on Wednesday in a case about political corruption in which there are no political corruption charges.Senator John SampsonSampson, a Brooklyn Democrat, is not charged with embezzling $440,000 from state funds, as prosecutors say he did — but with engaging in an extensive cover-up. He faces nine counts in Federal District Court in Brooklyn, including conspiracy to obstruct justice, witness tampering, tampering with records,Cheap Jerseys, concealing records and making false statements.Judge Dora L. Irizarry dropped two embezzlement counts against Mr. Sampson in October, saying the statute of limitations had passed; prosecutors plan to appeal that ruling.The government’s account is that Mr. Sampson, a lawyer who worked as a court-appointed referee for foreclosed properties, siphoned money from foreclosure sales that he oversaw, then tried to cover up that embezzlement.“The lawyer and lawmaker thought he could get away with breaking the law,” an assistant United States attorney, Marisa M. Seifan, said in opening statements.The defence argues that Mr. Sampson was entrapped, that he would not have done what he did without the “lure” of government cooperators.“This case is about overreach and government entrapment,” Nathaniel H. Akerman, a lawyer for Mr. Sampson, said. “The government tries to make crimes where no crime occurred.”Witness: Edul AhmadThe central witness, who began testifying on Wednesday, is an old friend of Mr. Sampson’s, Edul Ahmad. Mr. Ahmad was eager to have Mr. Sampson and his political influence working for him. He paid for the men to travel to Antigua and Guyana to watch cricket matches; he always picked up the check at their $300 dinners, and he contributed thousands to Mr. Sampson’s 2005 run for Brooklyn district attorney.Mr. Ahmad began cooperating with the government in 2011, soon after his arrest on mortgage-fraud charges, and his recordings of Mr. Sampson are expected to be key evidence in the case.He met Mr. Sampson over two dozen years ago at a Queens fund-raiser. Mr. Sampson was introduced to him as the youngest state senator, and Mr. Ahmad testified on Wednesday that he “was very excited” since a state senator might have “access” to the licensing bodies that Mr. Ahmad dealt with, for real-estate and mortgage-brokers’ licenses.“If I’m friends with a senator,Maglia Juventus Vendita, in the events that I have problems, I can always reach out to him for help,” Mr. Ahmad said.The two became close, and in 2006, Mr. Sampson asked Mr. Ahmad for a loan of $188,500. Mr. Sampson meant that money, prosecutors said,Cheap Authentic Jerseys, to replace the funds he had stolen, and he planned to return Mr. Ahmad’s generosity with political favors. Mr. Sampson paid back some, not all, of the embezzled funds, prosecutors said.“I felt if I didn’t lend him the money, it would sort of destroy our relationship and could possibly prevent me from getting any help in the future if I needed it,” Mr. Ahmad said.When Mr. Ahmad was arrested, Mr. Sampson worried that the trail would lead to him,Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale, and offered to seek information for Mr. Ahmad about the mortgage-fraud case so that Mr. Ahmad would not cooperate with the government, Ms. Seifan said. A paralegal who worked in the Eastern District of New York was an old friend, and Mr. Sampson pushed the paralegal to get information about potential witnesses in Mr. Ahmad’s case, Ms. Seifan said.Mr. Akerman countered that Mr. Sampson was going to use the paralegal’s information for background, “not to dig up dirt,” and that no confidential information was given.After Mr. Ahmad agreed to cooperate with the government, he met with Mr. Sampson at a restaurant, wearing a wire. He handed Mr. Sampson a check register showing the $180,000 payment, which Mr. Ahmad claimed the government had subpoenaed. “That’s a problem — I mean, for me,” Mr. Sampson said,Stitched NFL Jerseys, according to Ms. Seifan. He then took the check and put it in his pocket, and told Mr. Ahmad to say he did not know where it was if investigators asked,Wholesale Jerseys, Ms. Seifan said.Mr. Akerman responded that it was a “fabricated” document and that when the government, through Mr. Ahmad, tried to “ensnare” Mr. Sampson two months earlier with the same document, Mr. Sampson’s response was, “Don’t even worry about it.”