The Baddest Disbarred Lawyer In The History Of New Jersey

The New Jersey Supreme Court has disbarred Paul Bergrin for misconduct described in the report of the Disciplinary Review Board

Respondent, a former federal prosecutor and prominent defense attorney, was indicted in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey on numerous charges, including violations of the Racketeering Influence and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO). Later, in superseding indictments, he was also charged with witness tampering, participating in cocaine trafficking conspiracy, and tax evasion.

The Rico charge was dismissed by the trial court. That decision was reversed by the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit

After the remand, on June 2, 2011, the government filed a thirty-three count second superseding indictment, which included two witness tampering counts, charging respondent with facilitating the murder of an FBI informant, who was to have been a witness against one of respondent’s criminal clients. The indictment also accused respondent of misusing his law practice to traffic drugs, facilitate prostitution, tamper with witnesses, and evade taxes. Id. at 265.

The District Court severed the two witness-tampering counts to have them tried separately. At the trial that followed, the court precluded the government from introducing evidence about two additional witness-murder plots to prove respondent’s intent to have the FBI informant murdered. Ultimately, the jury was unable to reach a verdict. Id. at 264.

The Third Circuit disagreed on the evidence preclusion and sent the case back to another judge

On March 18, 2013, after an eight-week trial, respondent was convicted of twenty-three of the thirty-three counts of the superseding indictment. The Honorable Dennis M. Cavanaugh, U .S.D.J., sentenced respondent to be imprisoned for the remainder of his natural life: six life sentences to run concurrently on six counts, and various additional terms of imprisonment on the remaining seventeen counts, each to run concurrently. In 2014, respondent’s conviction and sentence were affirmed.

The story

Respondent was “house counsel” to Hakeem Curry’s drug trafficking organization. In that capacity, respondent was retained to represent Curry’s “underlings” to ensure that they did not cooperate with authorities. One such underling was William Baskerville, with whom respondent formed an agreement to murder Kemo McCray. Soon thereafter, respondent met with others in furtherance of that agreement.

On November 25, 2003, Baskerville had been arrested for selling crack cocaine to a confidential witness (CW). Baskerville deduced the identity of the CW and so informed respondent. Ibid. Respondent then conveyed to Curry that McCray was the CW. Respondent told Curry and several of Curry’s associates that Baskerville was facing life in prison for “that little bit of cocaine” and if McCray testified against him, Baskerville “was never coming home. Don’t let [McCray] testify against [Baskerville] . ” Id. at 441. Respondent told the group that he could “get [Baskerville] out if Kemo [McCray] d[id]n’t testify” [Respondent] twice reiterated ‘no [McCray], no case’ and emphasized that the group should not ‘let that kid testify against [Baskerville].'” U.S. v. Bergrin, supra, 682 F. 3d at 266. A few months later, one of Curry’s associates shot McCray to death. Fed. Appx. at 441. U.S. v. Bergrin, supra, 599

The court remarked that, even though the foregoing excerpts from the record were sufficient to sustain respondent’s conviction related to McCray’s murder, there was “much more.” U.S. v. Bergrin, supra, 599 Fed. Appx. At 440

Sanction

Respondent’s misconduct was pervasive and abhorrent. Clearly, the most heinous of the crimes for which he was convicted was tampering with witnesses, in one instance, leading to the death of an FBI informant. Based on his conviction for that crime alone, disbarment is the only appropriate measure of discipline, notwithstanding that his life sentences will prevent him from practicing law. 

New York News & Politics  bestowed on him the title of The Baddest Lawyer in the History of New Jersey.

“ ‘No witness, no case’—that was Paul’s motto,” said one attorney. “There was this guy with a tattoo of the scales of justice on his back. Below the scales was the quote, ‘No witness, no case—Paul Bergrin.’ When your customers are all criminals, what’s better advertising than a prison tattoo?”

Everyone had his Paul Bergrin ­story—how he started off with one client, then switched to another defendant in the same case, got the second guy to flip against the first, and kept the money from both. There were tales of how Bergrin planned to open a $30 million gambling casino in the Costa Rican cloud forest. And of course, there was the whorehouse deal. Bergrin had taken control of one of Manhattan’s ritziest escort services and started bringing a steady stream of cops, lawyers, and even a prison official to the brothel’s Worth Street headquarters, where the samples were free.

(Mike Frisch)