Aug. 20 (Bloomberg) -- Robert Simels, a New York criminal defense lawyer, was convicted by a jury of a scheme to “eliminate” and “neutralize” federal witnesses slated to testify against one of his clients.

Simels, a former Special Assistant Attorney General for New York’s Special Prosecutor’s Office who once represented pop artist Peter Max, was convicted of 12 of 13 charges against him, including multiple counts of witness tampering, bribery, and illegal possession of eavesdropping equipment. He was cleared of a sole charge of making false statements to the U.S.

After the verdict, U.S. District Court Judge John Gleeson denied the government’s request to jail Simels, 62, on the grounds he was a flight risk. He ordered Simels to remain under house arrest at his home in New York’s Westchester County while wearing an electronic ankle bracelet.

Gerald Shargel, a lawyer for Simels, said his client still had many cases to wind down and wanted to work from home.

The judge called the case a “tragedy” and said he found the testimony about the matter-of-fact manner in which Simels discussed having witnesses lie “especially disturbing.”

‘Dark Side’

Gleeson said Simels had a “dark side.”

“People could have easily been murdered and Simels knew that,” the judge said. “Simels crossed a bright line between what lawyers must do on behalf of their clients and what is forbidden,” adding later that Simels “spent years living on the other side of that line.”

Shargel said that he would appeal the verdict.

“I am deeply saddened for Bob and his family,” Shargel said. “It’s an unusual case when you’re representing another criminal defense lawyer.”

Simels declined to comment. Asked his client’s reaction to the verdict, Shargel said, “Obviously he’s distressed.”

Under federal statutes, Simels faces a possible life prison term, said prosecutors in the office of Brooklyn U.S. Attorney Benton Campbell. Gleeson set sentencing for Nov. 20.

“This case demonstrates that those who seek to use their license to practice law as license to commit crimes will be brought to justice,” Campbell said in a statement.

Arienne Irving, 31, an associate of Simels, was convicted of conspiracy to obstruct justice through witnesses tampering. Irving, who remains free on bond, also faces as much as life in prison.

Wiretaps

During the trial, which began July 27, jurors heard Simels on government wiretaps conversing with Selwyn Vaughn, who was secretly cooperating with prosecutors. Simels discussed how to locate witnesses against his client, Shaheed Khan, who was facing cocaine-trafficking conspiracy charges in U.S. District Court in Brooklyn.

“Obviously, any witnesses you can eliminate is a good thing,” Simels told Vaughn in a June 11, 2008, recorded conversation.

Jurors, who had deliberated seven days in the case, declined to speak to reporters after they left the courthouse in downtown Brooklyn.

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.

Spoke Down

“Guyana is a Third World country,” Simels testified. “They sometimes speak in a very unappealing fashion so I spoke down in a manner he would appreciate.”

Khan, who has since pleaded guilty and awaits sentencing, was indicted in 2006 on charges he headed the “Phantom Squad,” described by prosecutors as “a violent para-military squad” that imported large quantities of cocaine into New York and also committed murders. Simels has been Khan’s lawyer since the charges were filed, court records show.

“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 Payment

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 judge cited testimony from a criminal defense lawyer who told jurors during the trial that lawyers must often aggressively defend their clients. Gleeson said in court today that in he didn’t believe there was anything “nuanced or susceptible to interpretation” about what Simels did or said.

Vaughn ‘Unleashed’

Gleeson said that he had no doubt that if Vaughn hadn’t cooperated with authorities, witnesses would have been killed.

“He unleashed Mr. Vaughn” upon the witnesses and their families, Gleeson said.

On his Web site, Simels says he has represented Henry Hill, the former mobster whose life story was turned into the movie “GoodFellas” played by actor Ray Liotta. Simels describes himself as having “exceptional success as a litigator,” which has “earned me a renowned reputation.”

He also represented Kenneth “Supreme” McGriff, who was sentenced to life in prison without parole after being convicted of federal drug trafficking charges.

McGriff was accused of targeting rap performer 50 Cent for death. The 2000 plot was allegedly in revenge for the hip-hop artist’s song that detailed McGriff’s criminal past, court papers said.

To contact the reporter for this story: Patricia Hurtado in New York State Supreme Court in Manhattan at pathurtado@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: August 20, 2009 15:14 EDT