There are two phrases that Charles C. Dorego’s friends and colleagues use to describe him: “very smart” and “very charming.”

That is why colleagues in the real estate industry are wondering how he finds himself at the center of a corruption scandal that has toppled two of the most powerful politicians in the state: Sheldon Silver, the former Democratic speaker of the State Assembly and Dean G. Skelos, the former Republican majority leader in the State Senate.

Mr. Dorego, the general counsel for one of Manhattan’s biggest developers, Glenwood Management, is an influential figure in real estate circles whose warm smile and easygoing demeanor could disarm even those with whom he disagreed in an industry famous for its bitter rivalries.

But Mr. Dorego also likes to let associates know about the political access he enjoyed to the governor, the mayor and top lawmakers that came from being a major developer who dispensed millions of dollars in political contributions on behalf of Glenwood and its owner, Leonard Litwin.