The mayor is charged with extortion and money laundering. Prosecutors claim he took more than $12,000 from an insurance broker in exchange for using his influence.
The broker feared the school board would put the district's insurance broker contract out to bid, placing her commission at risk.
The broker was a cooperating witness, who testified she made payments to Bencivengo in three installments.
The Times of Trenton reports the mayor's lawyer maintains the mayor intended to pay the broker back and he didn't have the ability to influence decisions made by the school board.
