Almost 20 years ago, I tried a case against members of a Harlem street narcotics ring. That is, I tried to try a case. There were various attempts to kill and otherwise intimidate the witnesses. Finally, we arrested and “flipped” one of these characters, who was going to testify about how the lead defendants had put him up to it. That is, until the lead defendant’s lawyer tried to, shall we say, talk him out of it. The lawyer’s name was Robert Simels. The incident led to a mistrial and, ultimately, his disqualification from the case. (The defendants were later convicted at a retrial when the government got itself a better lawyer … who is now my wife.)

The story came to mind this morning when I came across this item in the New York Post:

A prominent Manhattan lawyer who has big-time mobsters and football stars on his client roster attempted to “eliminate” key witnesses against a drug kingpin, according to an explosive complaint unsealed by federal prosecutors yesterday.
Robert Simels, 61, is accused in an 18-page federal complaint of making a $1,000 down payment to “neutralize” the witness – which included strict orders not to kill the witness’ mother – and offering cash to bribe another witness.
Simels, who appeared in Brooklyn federal court yesterday after being accused of conspiring to obstruct justice, is alleged to have been working under orders from his client Shaheed Khan, who allegedly ran a drug-dealing ring based in Guyana and headed a paramilitary group known as the Phantom Squad.
Khan allegedly told Simels the case against him hinged on one man – identified in court papers as “John Doe No. 1.” Simels attempted to “eliminate” and “neutralize” Doe from a witness list over a three-month period and “discussed a range of options from offering them money to murdering their family members,” the complaint said….
The feds said on June 19, that Simels met with the government informant in his York Avenue office on the Upper East Side and handed over $1,000. The two were caught on tape, according to the federal complaint, with Simels saying, “Here’s $1,000 to get started.” When the undercover informant said “no problem,” Simels replied, “All [Khan] says is be careful. He says don’t kill the mother.”