A less than two-hour class, taught about six times a year. Conference calls taken poolside, or from the car. A handful of posts each week on the company social media account, sharing colorful cartoons or titles of children’s books related to energy conservation.

These were some of the duties that earned Lisa Toscano-Percoco, the wife of a former top state official, $90,000 a year while she was employed by a Maryland-based energy company, Competitive Power Ventures, in what federal prosecutors characterized as a “low-show job.” Prosecutors say the job was provided by one of the company’s former executives as a bribe to Ms. Toscano-Percoco’s husband, Joseph Percoco.

Mr. Percoco, once Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo’s executive deputy secretary, is on trial along with the executive, Peter Galbraith Kelly, and two Syracuse-area developers. He is accused of trading his clout as the governor’s confidant and enforcer for more than $300,000 in bribes, including his wife’s salary; in return, prosecutors say he worked to help C.P.V. land a state contract. Ms. Toscano-Percoco has not been charged with any wrongdoing.

The focus on Ms. Toscano-Percoco’s job over the last few days has been a departure from the rest of the trial, which is in its fifth week in Federal District Court in Manhattan. Up to this point, much of the testimony has focused on almost stereotypically unsavory political maneuverings. There have been mocking emails and profanity-laced phone calls, luxury fishing trips and allusions to “The Sopranos.”