A former deputy speaker of the Assembly, Clarence Norman Jr., said in court yesterday that he was familiar with state election laws that prohibited his depositing a $5,000 check marked “contribution” into a personal account, but said he did it because the money was supposed to be a reimbursement and not intended for his re-election campaign.

“I thought about it, but I knew it was a reimbursement check,” Norman, who is on trial for grand larceny in State Supreme Court in Brooklyn, replied when asked if he thought to contact the political club that sent the check so it could issue an appropriate one instead.

The check in question was made out to Norman’s campaign committee in October 2001 by the Thurgood Marshall Democratic Club, an organization he founded. Norman deposited the money into a personal account at Chase bank. He said bank employees allowed him to make the deposit because they knew him from his work in the community.

Testifying in his own defense, the once powerful Brooklyn Democrat meekly endured a withering cross-examination from late morning to early evening, claiming repeatedly that the check was reimbursement for $5,000 he paid to Assemblywoman Diane Gordon in September 2001 for work she oversaw on Alan Hevesi’s bid for the party’s mayoral nomination.

Ms. Gordon had been a witness for the defense but invoked the Fifth Amendment when she was called to testify about the payment, which her campaign never reported to election officials.

Prosecutors, meanwhile, sought to portray Norman as a knowledgeable man who intentionally disregarded the law, pointing out that he was the senior member of the Assembly’s election law committee and that the political club and his own district office share a suite, which should have made it easy to communicate a problem if one existed.

“Is there an exception in the rule for Clarence Norman Jr. checks?” Assistant District Attorney Michael F. Vecchione asked when Norman gave contradictory answers regarding his knowledge of the laws governing how campaign contributions must be handled.

“Absolutely not,” Norman replied after an objection from his lawyer was overruled. “You do know how to read?” Mr. Vecchione asked as a follow-up.

Norman was deputy speaker of the Assembly and chairman of the Brooklyn Democratic Party until his conviction in September on charges of soliciting illegal campaign contributions and falsifying business records. He faces up to eight years in prison when he is sentenced on those charges. He also faces two more indictments.

At one point during the cross-examination, noting that Norman is a former prosecutor, Mr. Vecchione said to him, “Larceny is when someone takes something that doesn’t belong to them.”

“Intentionally,” Norman said.