Murder-racketeering trial for attorney Paul Bergrin to begin today

Update: Opening statements heard in murder-racketeering trial of attorney Paul Bergrin

Fourteen months after jurors deadlocked leading to a mistrial, prosecutors Tuesday will begin presenting a much broader murder and racketeering case against Paul W. Bergrin, a prominent defense lawyer accused of conspiring to sell cocaine, promote prostitution and silence witnesses against his clients.

A new jury was selected in federal court in Newark two weeks ago, but U.S. District Judge Dennis M. Cavanaugh postponed the start of the second trial until this morning to give Bergrin, who again will serve as his own defense lawyer, time to recover from an illness.

Prosecutors say Bergrin, 57, of Nutley, a former federal and Essex County assistant prosecutor, ran his Newark law practice as a racketeering enterprise, trafficking in multi-kilo quantities of cocaine, managing a call-girl ring in New York, and using bribery, intimidation and murder to tamper with witnesses against his clients. He has been in custody since his arrest in May 2009.

The mistrial was declared in November 2011 when the first jury was unable to reach a unanimous verdict after six days of deliberations. That trial was limited to two murder counts relating to Bergrin's alleged role in advising members of a Newark drug gang to kill an FBI informant, Kemo Deshawn McCray, before he could testify against one of Bergrin's clients.

The case was reassigned to Cavanaugh last year after an appeals court reversed several rulings by U.S. District Judge William J. Martini and agreed with the government that Martini's impartiality could reasonably be questioned. Martini had forced prosecutors to proceed first with the McCray murder counts and barred them from presenting evidence of other alleged murder plots, finding it overly prejudicial.

Cavanaugh later ruled that the government could proceed with its full case against Bergrin, a prosecution that encompasses 26 counts alleging acts of murder, murder conspiracy, witness tampering, cocaine trafficking, traveling in aid of a racketeering enterprise, bribery of witnesses, prostitution and laundering of his clients' drug money.

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Yeh Kaali Kaali Raatein - : Wilson House : Part 3 : 04/18/12

Sangeeta manages to find Payal. Ayush comes across the Edward D'mello and Payal is under the influence of Scarlette -- the younger daughter of Dmellos. Whole family starts behaving weirdly -- and Ravi is getting violent by day. He attacks Dr.Kadam -- his friend and threatens to kill him.....

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