But even with the pared-back case, Mr. DiCarmine, 60, and Mr. Sanders, 58, could face up to four years in prison if convicted of the most serious charge — a securities fraud count.

Lawyers for both men, on the eve of jury selection, somewhat predictably argued with the prosecution’s continued pursuit of criminal charges against their clients. Andrew J. Frisch, the lawyer for Mr. Sanders, said prosecutors had become fixated on holding someone to account for the collapse of Dewey and “just won’t let go.” Rita Glavin, the lawyer for Mr. DiCarmine, expressed a similar frustration and said the decision to hold a second trial was “a tragedy and injustice.”

The second trial is taking place with much less attention than the first, which was closely watched by the New York legal community. The prosecution of the former Dewey executives was one of the first watershed white-collar cases brought by Mr. Vance, whose office has a mixed record in high-profile trials.

The criminal proceedings have put a hold on a parallel lawsuit that the Securities and Exchange Commission filed against Mr. DiCarmine and Mr. Sanders, which contends that the two men and others at Dewey misled investors in a bond offering that Dewey used to fund its operations.

The new trial is likely to feature testimony again from several former employees of Dewey’s accounting department who pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges in the early stage of the investigation. And once again the star witness for the prosecution is expected to be Frank Canellas, the firm’s former finance director.

Mr. Canellas testified about conversations he had with Mr. Sanders in late 2008, including a dinner at a Manhattan restaurant, about ways to jigger the firm’s financial books. But Mr. Canellas also testified that he had never directly told Mr. DiCarmine or Mr. Davis of any improper accounting maneuvers being used at the firm.