The government's claim that longtime Albany powerhouse Sheldon Silver used his position to extort money and win undeserved referral fees from two law firms will be put to the test next week in a federal courthouse in lower Manhattan.

Less than 10 months after he was charged in a kickback scheme and forced from his post as New York Assembly speaker, Silver and his legal team will mount an aggressive defense to undermine charges he raked in some $4 million without providing legal services.

Jury selection begins Monday before Southern District Judge Valerie Caproni on the fourth floor of the Thurgood Marshall U.S. Courthouse, where prosecutors are trying to win the biggest conviction yet in the steady stream of public corruption cases brought by Southern District U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara.