Simels convicted in E.D.N.Y. after seven days of deliberation
08/20/09
Simels convicted in E.D.N.Y. after seven days of deliberation
Criminal defense lawyer Robert Simels was found guilty in Brooklyn federal court today of conspiracy to commit witness tampering. See Bloomberg News: Lawyer Convicted of Plan to ‘Neutralize’ Witnesses. See also NYPost.com, NYTimes, NY Lawyer Guilty of Witness Tampering in Drug Case, SD Union-Tribune
[Update: The most complete article is in the New York Law Journal (Aug. 21)]
Prior post here. From Bloomberg:
“Obviously, any witnesses you can eliminate is a good thing,” Simels told Vaughn in a June 11, 2008, recorded conversation.
‘Legalese’
Taking the stand in his own defense during the trial, Simels testified that the recorded conversations with Vaughn about “neutralizing” witnesses really described his own sting operation. He said terms like “neutralize,” “eliminate,” and “kill by cross-examination” were “legalese,” or legal terms, and were not to be considered literally, court transcripts show.
He testified that Vaughn, who like Khan was a member of a Guyanese gang, spoke a “street” language which he attempted to mimic.
. . .
Much Pressure
“Don’t kill the mother,” Simels warned Vaughn during one recorded conversation, adding that Khan wanted “as much pressure” put on a government witness “as possible.”
Simels added that if a witness’s mother or other family members were killed, federal authorities would place his client in the highly restricted federal jail in Lower Manhattan reserved for alleged terrorists.
“If the mother gets killed then the government will go crazy and they’ll put him into the special housing unit, limit his phone calls, limit my access to him,” Simels explained.
$10,000 Offer
Simels later typed and gave Vaughn a document detailing what he wanted another witness to say to investigators, prosecutors said. He told Vaughn that one female witness would get $10,000 for her cooperation only when she completed her testimony. “Nobody wants to pay for a pig in a poke,” he said in a recorded conversation played in court.
The moral to the story is: watch out what you say when the person could be recording you. Treatise § 1.1:
Rule No. 4: Never trust the client, his or her friends, witnesses, or relatives. Trust only yourself.
a. Remember, the client you are dealing with is likely a criminal. So, consider how the client likely thinks about dealing with his problems.
b. Never do or say anything that will give the client leverage or power over you.
c. Avoid being sucked into conspiracies and other crimes with or by the client.Rule No. 5: Say nothing or do nothing that you would be afraid to read about in the newspaper or in a transcript or hear in a courtroom some day.
a. Always treat the client like the client is a reporter and the conversation is "on the record."
b. Always assume that the client is recording you.. . .
Rule No. 7: The lawyer should not be the one to go to jail.
a. Go beyond the ethical rules—what does the criminal law say about your conduct in a particular situation? Could anyone even twist the facts to make your conduct look criminal?
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"[O]ur so-called adversary system is not adversary at all; nor should it be.
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—Justice White concurring and dissenting in U.S. v. Wade, 388 U.S. 218, 256-58 (1967)
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