Sept. 11 (Bloomberg) -- A New York criminal defense lawyer accused of trying to ``eliminate'' and ``neutralize'' witnesses against one of his clients in a drug-trafficking case was arrested on federal charges, prosecutors said.

Robert Simels, a former Special Assistant Attorney General for New York's Special Prosecutor's Office who said he once represented pop artist Peter Max, was arrested at his Manhattan office yesterday and charged with witness tampering, said Robert Nardoza, a spokesman for Brooklyn U.S. Attorney Benton Campbell.

Simels, who obtained his law degree from New York Law School, was caught on a federal wiretap discussing with an unidentified source how to locate witnesses against his client, Shaheed Khan, who is facing cocaine-trafficking conspiracy charges in U.S. District Court in Brooklyn, prosecutors said.

``Obviously, any witnesses you can eliminate is a good thing,'' Simels told the confidential source in a June 11 conversation, according to a federal arrest warrant.

Simels was released on $3.5 million bond after a court appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Cheryl Pollak. His lawyer, Gerald Shargel, couldn't immediately be reached for comment. Simels's law associate, Arienne Irving, who was also charged in the scheme, was released on $500,000 bond, Nardoza said. Both face as long as 10 years in prison if convicted, Nardoza said. A lawyer representing Irving couldn't immediately be reached for comment yesterday.

`Paramilitary Squad'

Khan was indicted in 2006 on charges he headed the ``Phantom Squad,'' described by prosecutors as ``a violent paramilitary 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 the source during a recorded June 19 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 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.

Simels later typed and gave the confidential source a document detailing what he wanted another witness to say to investigators, prosecutors said. He told the confidential source that one female witness would get ``$10,000'' for her cooperation and added, she wouldn't get the full payment until she completed her testimony.

``Nobody wants to pay for a pig in a poke,'' he said in a recorded conversation.

Khan's Arraignment

Khan, a Guyanese who is in custody at the federal jail in Brooklyn, was also charged in the scheme, Nardoza said. He is expected to be arraigned at a later date.

On his Web site, Simelslaw.com, Simels says he has represented Henry Hill, the former mobster whose life story was portrayed in the movie ``GoodFella's'' 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.

In 2005, a U.S. Internal Revenue Service affidavit was unsealed which said McGriff targeted 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: September 11, 2008 00:01 EDT