But the trial of former State Sen. Wayne R. Bryant, scheduled to begin tomorrow with jury selection in federal court in Trenton, could top them all.

The Camden County Democrat - the man who once held the state's purse strings - is arguably the most powerful and well-known New Jersey politician to be indicted in recent memory. And witnesses could include former cabinet officials, Senate staffers, and other Trenton luminaries.

"It's going to be a spectacle," said Brigid Harrison, a political-science and law professor at Montclair State University.

Prosecutors plan to lay out a familiar theory of a politician who used his considerable influence for his own benefit.

"The story is about the pervasiveness of corruption in the state," Harrison said. "It serves to underscore the cynicism voters already have about the self-interestedness . . . of elected officials."

This kind of drama has played out before, but Bryant's case remains unique.

Former State Sen. Sharpe James was convicted this year of corruption, but the charges related to his actions as mayor of Newark.

Former state Senate President John Lynch also went down, but years after he left politics, and he pleaded guilty before he was indicted.

In Bryant's case, the trial could provide a long - prosecutors estimated six weeks to present their case - and rare glimpse into Trenton machinations.

It's not known if Bryant has been offered or is considering a last-minute plea agreement. His attorney, Carl Poplar, did not return phone calls, and the U.S. Attorney's Office declined to comment.

Proving the type of bribery alleged at the heart of the case can be difficult, legal experts said.

"There's a feeling of inevitability in this that may not be fair," said Ingrid Reed, director of the New Jersey Project at the Eagleton Institute of Politics at Rutgers University. "It could be that Wayne Bryant does feel like he has a good case."

A conviction could bring a long sentence. Guidelines are based on the loss to taxpayers, and U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie estimated last year that Bryant, 60, could face at least 24 years in prison.

Bryant is accused of holding three no-show jobs that nearly tripled his public pension. He faces pension-fraud charges for misrepresenting how much work he did in two of those jobs.

Prosecutors said Bryant had solicited one of those jobs in 2002 from the president of the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey. A few months later, he was given the position of "program support coordinator" at UMDNJ's School of Osteopathic Medicine in Stratford.

The osteopathic school's dean, R. Michael Gallagher, has been charged with arranging Bryant's job and then "cooking the books" to make the job appear legitimate.

Prosecutors said Bryant had done almost no work, spending most of his limited time on campus reading newspapers.

Instead, prosecutors said, Bryant was paid to use his influence as chairman of the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee to direct millions of dollars to UMDNJ.

The indictment details a number of instances when Bryant lobbied public officials and used his Senate office to the university's benefit, without disclosing that he was on its payroll.