State University of New York's Polytechnic Institute

The government's prized cooperator at a corruption trial that grew from an ambitious New York state redevelopment plan known as the Buffalo Billion began his testimony Thursday, describing how a developer and a key player in the project forged a solid relationship after bonding while talking about cars.

A former president of the State University of New York's Polytechnic Institute and several construction company executives are set for trial Monday on corruption charges stemming from their alleged rigging of bids in an upstate development plan known as the Buffalo Billion.