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Defense Lawyer Accused Of Killing Witness In Client's Trial
By
Jen Chung
Published May 21, 2009
Modified May 21, 2009
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By
Jen Chung
Published May 21, 2009
Modified May 21, 2009
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Former federal prosecutor turned defense lawyer to the stars Paul Bergrin, who represented Lil' Kim as well as members of street gangs, would say, "No witness, no case." And Bergrin apparently took that to heart, because he's been charged with plotting the murder of a federal witness set to testify against his client. Acting U.S. Attorney Ralph Marra said, "He employed every illegal tool available to disrupt our system of justice and keep murderers, drug dealers and gang leaders on the street." The indictment mentioned another instance of Bergrin trying to plot a witness's murder—"Paul Bergrin met with the hit man and instructed the hit man to make the murder of Junior the Panamanian appear as if it were part of a home invasion robbery rather than the execution of a witness"—and accuses him of paying off witnesses. The NY Times says, "[Feds] noticed what appeared to be a pattern; in at least four other cases, his clients had been cleared after witnesses were either killed or changed their stories." Bergrin has been on probation after pleading guilty to running a former client's prostitution ring (the one run by Jason "King of All Pimps" Itzler).
Tagged
crime
hit
killing witness
murder
Paul Bergrin
trial
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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