An ex-US city boss picked up a massive cash wad of $50,000 in alleged bribes from the Bank of Bermuda, a Miami court heard yesterday.

And a bank security video tape said to show ex-Miami-Dade County Commissioner James Burke packing the cash into a black bag is part of the evidence to be produced at the cash-for-contracts trial.

The Miami US Attorney General's Office told the court that Burke flew to the Island the same day bond underwriter Calvin Grigsby transferred $50,000 from a Swiss bank to the Bank of Bermuda.

It is alleged Burke withdrew the money in cash, packed it into a black bag and returned to Miami -- without declaring he was carrying the money.

The prosecution claims the cash was a down payment on a $350,000 bribe to ensure Grigsby's firm won a $180-million county contract in connection with a waste disposal plant.

The news came on the first day of evidence in the trial of Burke, his former aide Billy Hardemon, and Grigsby, a San Francisco financier in the Florida city.

Burke was nabbed after an undercover FBI probe lasting several years into claims of city hall corruption in the Miami-Dade County area.

The investigation -- dubbed Operation Greenpalm -- led to the three men being charged with money-laundering, bribery and wire fraud.

The Bank of Bermuda transaction is alleged to have taken place in August, 1996.

A bank spokesman on Tuesday said the institution was unable to comment as they were "not involved as a party''.

And he insisted that the bank had carried out "thorough due diligence'' before completing the alleged transaction.

The spokesman added: "We have very strict money-laundering procedures in place.

"Bank of Bermuda acted properly in every way regarding this transaction and this has been recognised by both the Bermuda Police and the FBI.'' The Bank of Butterfield earlier this year was caught up in a case where a Canadian judge was jailed for three years for laundering CAN $1.65 million in drugs money while in private practice.

Some of the cash was funnelled through Canadian banks to Swiss institutions then back via Bermuda and Hong Kong to Canada.

Bank of Butterfield boss Calum Johnston later said the bank had "no knowledge'' of the three transactions and insisted his staff complied with "all our money laundering procedures''.

But he added the bank had "no way'' to determine the original source of funds and no reason to doubt "apparently respectable'' customers introduced to it by "reliable sources''.