Fumo chided Marcus in an e-mail: "Remember your words: No one that I love is going to fly commercial."

The jet bore the tail number 888SV - the S evidently for Steve and the V for Vince.

The Picnic Boat was named just 888.

As Fumo explained to the jury, "888" was one of his favorite phrases because the numbers, when turned on their sides, mimic the X's and O's of hugs and kisses.

When Fumo's second marriage fell apart, Marcus stepped up in a big way, providing the $1 million gift. (Under federal law, Fumo owed no tax on the gift.)

The divorce was final in October 2000, the month Marcus wired money out of Marcus Paul's trust fund.

"He gave me the money to settle the divorce," Fumo testified. "He saw me agonizing through it and didn't want me to go through it."

The trial was the first time the public learned of the $1 million gift, or of the present of the $500,000 boat.

Unlike the rules for Congress, Pennsylvania law exempts public officials from disclosing gifts from friends.

Though Marcus is not known to have pursued any legislative agenda in Harrisburg, he did explore briefly taking part in a casino ownership group, sources say, but nothing ever came of it.

As Fumo returned to the dating scene, Marcus and he had a disagreement. Marcus said flatly that he disapproved of the senator's girlfriend, according to an e-mail introduced as evidence.

"I really don't like her and REALLY don't trust her," Marcus wrote Fumo in 2004.

In fact, Marcus told his friend, "I hope she doesn't ride in the plane."

For reasons that are unclear, some say, the two friends had a falling out in Marcus' final months. But, there is no doubt about their bond at its peak.

According to exhibits at the trial, Fumo signed messages to Marcus, "Love, Vince."

As for Marcus, the trial showed, he ended one e-mail to Fumo, "ILY - Steve."

The Inquirer's live blog from the Fumo trial is at http://go.philly.com/fumoblog

To read more about the former state senator, go to http://go.philly.com/fumo