NEW YORK —Will Sean "Puffy" Combs spend the next decade in Versace suits or prison-issue sweats? Will he rule his music empire from a Manhattan boardroom or a cinder block cell? Will he summer in the Hamptons or the exercise yard?

The 31-year-old rap music mogul will come a step closer to learning his fate Monday morning, when opening statements in his bribery and gun possession trial begin.

Combs, the CEO of Bad Boy Entertainment, faces 15 years in prison if convicted of possessing two illegal guns during a nightclub fracas and then bribing a witness to cover his tracks.

Combs has maintained his innocence, and his attorneys, one of whom is famed defender Johnnie Cochran, have suggested he is being prosecuted because of his celebrity.

"You're not going to hold his success against him, are you?" Cochran asked potential jurors last week.

But the prosecutor is expected to argue that it is Combs who thinks he is entitled to special treatment because of his stardom. Assistant District Attorney Matthew Bogdanos has accused Combs of being a serial deceiver who uses his unparalleled publicity machine to cover up repeated instances of bad behavior.

The night of the shooting, Combs was "being his manipulative self, trying to control things on the street like he controls so much else," Bogdanos said at a recent hearing.

The road to this lower Manhattan courtroom began after midnight on Dec. 27, 1999, when Combs met up with girlfriend Jennifer Lopez at Club New York, a Times Square hot spot. In the VIP section, the two encountered Combs' protege, Jamal "Shyne" Barrow, and Bad Boy employee, Anthony "Wolf" Jones. The group drank champagne and danced, but as the evening drew on, a problem developed with another clubgoer. Words were exchanged and the patron — in a mark of disrespect — threw a wad of cash at Combs.

According to police, a fight followed with both Barrow and Combs drawing loaded 9mm semiautomatic guns. Barrow allegedly squeezed off three bullets, striking bystanders. Barrow took off on his own, and Jones, Lopez and Combs fled in a chauffeured Lincoln Navigator owned by his record label.

The Navigator ran 11 red lights with a cruiser in pursuit, police say. When the driver, Wardel Fenderson, finally stopped the SUV a half-mile away, police discovered a 9mm gun under the front passenger seat. There was no permit for the gun, and it was found to have been stolen in Georgia.

The prosecution claims a second weapon — recovered two days after the shooting — was thrown from the vehicle during the chase.

When no one took responsibility for the weapon in the Navigator, all four occupants were taken into custody. On the way to the station, Combs peppered the officers with questions: Why was Lopez being arrested? If someone admitted ownership of the weapon, would she be released? Would everyone else be free to go?

According to the prosecutor, Combs was still talking when he arrived at the precinct house. He and Jones allegedly cornered Fenderson and urged him to take responsibility for the gun. Jones, according to police, said that with his felony record, he could not own up to the weapon. Combs then offered Fenderson money and jewelry to take the rap.

Combs' defense is likely to argue that Combs wasn't trying to bribe Fenderson but to get to the bottom of gun ownership and get Lopez out of jail. His defense team successfully fought off a prosecution attempt to keep Combs' questions to police out of evidence. Benjamin Brafman, another of Combs' lawyers, said jurors need to hear the comments to understand his mindset.

"He was hysterical because Jennifer Lopez was going to the police station in handcuffs," said Brafman during a recent court appearance. Combs, he said, was "on a mission" to clear up the problem.

Brafman implied Fenderson may have brought the guns into the SUV. He pointed out that the chauffeur had been in the car for hours before Combs, Lopez and Jones got in. According to the defense, the trio, panicked by what they thought was an assassination attempt inside the club, were forced outside and into the SUV by club security. The original plan, in fact, was to leave in a totally different car, Brafman said.

The prosecution's case is expected to turn on eyewitnesses to the club fight as well as the alleged bribe. Of the more than 400 names on the prosecution's witness list, one of the most controversial is bound to be Natania Reuben. Reuben was the most seriously injured gunshot victim — a bullet struck her in the face — and she told the New York Daily News that she saw Combs with a gun.

But the defense has labeled her a "complete fraud" who is testifying in the hopes of winning millions in civil damages from Combs. During jury selection, Brafman tried to plant seeds of mistrust about Reuben in the panelists' minds.

"Let's assume someone was shot, but they come in here and lie to you about material facts ... just because someone's shot doesn't mean they cannot perpetrate a fraud," he told them.

While each juror selected promised to pay close attention to witnesses and base their decision on evidence and the law, there is no doubt that they'll be closely watching court players who aren't on the witness stand.

All of the jurors in the case have said they were familiar with Cochran from his work on the O.J. Simpson case.

"I'm honored," said one male juror when he came face to face with the defense attorney.

The panelists also know Combs' music to varying degrees. One panelist said he owned several of his CDs.

"You said that you wouldn't let the personalities get in the way, but they are jumping off the page at you," Brafman told prospective jurors. "All these personalities are in the mix."

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