Blind Justice
Government Informants
To learn all about Paul Bergrin and the truth about why the government has pursued him with vengeance visit Who is Paul Bergrin.
One day about a year ago a friend of Bergrin's contacted me after reading those articles. She was trying to help Paul Bergrin by writing a book for him to raise money for the defense investigation and to continue feeding his attorney, Lawrence Lustberg, more money. There was a dispute of some sort with Bergrin's ex-wife as he had signed over all rights to his story to her and apparently she was not willing to donate to his cause. We really can't blame her though: He had a mistress for the last years of his marriage and that mistress was a major part of the case.
Shortly after the contact by Bergrin's friend, he added me to his email list. Some federal prisons allow inmates to email, but of course it is all monitored to extremes, especially in his case. I must imagine that any email correspondence that I could have with any inmate would be heavily monitored with someone (the DOJ in this case) looking for anything to charge. We only exchanged correspondence once and most of what I wrote reflected my thoughts in the aforementioned blog posts. Paul Bergrin and I didn't have much to say to each other anyway because he did not get it at that point. I must imagine that now, almost 2 years later, he gets it.
I also told Paul Bergrin a short story of my own encounter with an attorney after my first and longtime attorney exited my case, but before I found Steve Wolverton to defend me. It was during a four month period that I had no choice except to represent myself in the RICO case, not an easy undertaking for an attorney and certainly not for me at the time. Today I could do better, but I didn't do bad at all back then. It was what it was. Anyway, my short story was a pep talk of sorts, as the attorney that I encountered gave me. It was a GET UP AND FIGHT FOR YOUR LIFE type of story. Apparently he now is – good for him!
According to an August 30, 2011 story written by Martha Neil for the ABA Journal, Paul Bergrin filed the necessary motions to do exactly that. Neil's next story states that the judge on the case did grant Bergrin's wish (motion) and he is representing himself in the case. The two stories are here:
High-Profile Defense Attorney Accused of Practicing Law in RICO Enterprise May Represent Himself
Attorney Paul Bergrin's Biggest Trial is About to Begin: His Own Racketeering Case
The judge on the case didn't want Bergrin to represent himself and gave him no choice except to think about it for a while. While I get the cliché that a man that represents himself has a fool for a client and it was stated to me in my own RICO case, my thought at the time was better me than no one. That is my same thought in relation to Bergrin going pro se. Lawrence Lustberg is a money-sucker and no matter how much Paul Bergrin gave (and it is an extremely high figure), he was bound to want more, more, more. (see Youtube in blog header)
My only knowledge of Lawrence Lustberg is in relation to the Lev Trakhtenberg case and Lev's wife Viktoriya I'lina. All I know is that Viktoriya was not at all guilty as charged and somehow ended-up with Lustberg representing her after a serious falling-out with her original attorney. The only time that we ever spoke, she stated that she absolutely intended to go to trial. Somehow she ended-up pleading and doing a sentence in federal prison followed by federal probation. Knowing the situation for what it was, I had no choice except to conclude that Lustberg is not into trials when a defendant is low on funds, even though he was paid – the same more, more, and more situation. This is not the type of attorney that I would ever go to. Big names are not the way to go in many situations including this one.
It looks like the judge in Bergrin's case will be appointing Lustberg as stand-by counsel to Bergrin. In my opinion, Paul Bergrin had better watch his every step in the case as the goal is to force him to the sideline and make Lustberg take over, and there is no way I would want an attorney not willing to fight for me to be forced to represent me in a trial. It is indeed a touchy situation.
In my one correspondence with Bergrin I urged him to find out the facts and truth in reference to his girlfriend, Yolanda Jauregui, and when she became a government informant. At that point he could not even believe that she was working with the government and so I ended the correspondence. I felt sorry for him; however, was limited in my ability to communicate as I believed it inevitable that he would be pleading to charges as well with the refusal to acknowledge reality at such a late date in the case. Months later Martha Neil wrote an article that reflected my thoughts and fears:
Is Ex-Prosecutor Accused of Trying toArrange Witness Murders Now Cooperating with Feds?
My apologies (with a conditional note) to Paul Bergrin. I tend to jump-ship quickly when I get the feeling that a deal could be in the works. Lev Trakhtenberg could testify to that. However, Paul Bergrin should know better than most people that he has nothing to lose by going to trial in this case as I didn't in my own. He knows how to control information in the courtroom and has the advantage in this respect.
Representing himself won't be easy for Paul Bergrin – the government will make damn sure of that – but it is the only way. Hopefully he knows that the DOJ is hiding exculpatory evidence in the case and intends to pursue that avenue (Brady violations) in court prior to trial. Setting that trap with conflicting testimony among the informant witnesses is the first step. Even when informants are repeatedly coached in what to say and what not to say they can be backed into a corner with no way out except tears to a lone juror in a bathroom with the intent to provoke a mistrial for prosecutors. Been there and fought that.
More on the Paul Bergrin case in the near future. Consider me really happy that this guy decided to get-up and fight for his life!
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