Former prosecutor and defense lawyer Paul Bergrin was sentenced Monday to life in prison for facilitating murder, running drugs and operating a criminal syndicate out of his Newark law practice.
U.S. District Judge Dennis Cavanaugh in New Jersey gave Bergrin six life terms. Any mitigating factors were "significantly outweighed by the severity of defendant's crimes" and "made more reprehensible" by his status as a prosecutor and defense attorney, Cavanaugh told the crowded courtroom. "A message must be sent to those who might engage in this kind of behavior," the judge added. "He went from successful attorney and family man to a life of self-destruction."
