SAN DIEGO -- Nearly 150 prospective jurors showed up Tuesday for the estimated 10-week trial of two San Diego councilmen accused of taking bribes from a strip club owner in return for repealing the city's no-touch ordinance.

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Jury selection began at 9 a.m. and is expected to conclude by Friday, with an opening statement expected to begin May 10.

Michael Zucchet and Ralph Inzunza, both 35, were indicted on Aug, 28, 2003, more than three months after FBI agents raided San Diego City Hall and the three clubs owned by Michael Galardi of Las Vegas.

"I think the first day of a major trial for everybody is a nerve-racking experience. It wouldn't be normal if it wasn't," Zucchet's attorney, Jerry Coughlan, said before entering the federal courthouse.

Coughlan and Inzunza's attorney, Michael Pancer, criticized prosecutors for refusing to go along with a request to have U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Miller hear the trial without a jury.

After that issue was decided, a group of 107 potential jurors received an overview of the case from the judge, then filled out questionnaires. Another group of 40 followed the same routine.

"This is a challenging time for the city of San Diego," Miller told the prospective jurors, citing a shortfall in the municipal pension fund, Mayor Dick Murphy's resignation and other issues.

To ensure that the defendants get a fair trial, jurors on the case cannot be influenced by the problems the city is facing, nor should they be swayed by public polls and media reports, the judge said.

"They are entitled to no less," Miller told the potential panelists. "This is the only way to ensure fairness and justice for all parties."

Miller then sat down with the attorneys to review the questionnaires in advance of further jury selection tomorrow.

U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Miller has set a Tuesday-through-Friday, 8 a.m.-to-1 p.m. schedule so the councilmen can attend their 2 p.m. meetings at City Hall.

Wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud charges were filed against Zucchet, Inzunza and the late fellow Councilman Charles Lewis, along with Galardi, his lobbyist Malone and John D'Intino, a night manager at the Kearny Mesa Cheetah's club.

Zucchet, Inzunza, Galardi and Malone are also charged with extortion.

A second indictment, issued last October, alleges that public officials in the case took in more than $70,000, and that Inzunza was the leader of the alleged conspiracy.

D'Intino and Galardi pleaded guilty in September 2003 to conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and the club owner is expected to be key witness for the prosecution.

Miller has ruled that secretly recorded conversations involving Lewis, who was 37 when he died last Aug. 8 of gastrointestinal bleeding brought on by cirrhosis of the liver, can be used at trial.

Former Lewis aide David Cowan is also charged with lying to the FBI.

The councilmen have said any money received were in the form of legal campaign contributions.