Lawyer to celebs found guilty in racketeering case

(AP) NEWARK, N.J. - A once-prominent New Jersey defense attorney whose clients included entertainers and rap stars has been found guilty on all counts at his murder and racketeering trial.

Jurors deliberated for a full day and parts of two others before returning their verdict Monday in the case of Paul Bergrin. He faced numerous counts including murder, racketeering, conspiracy, prostitution and drug-related offenses.

The former federal prosecutor who once representing an Army reservist charged in the Abu Ghraib prison scandal in Iraq, in addition to entertainers Queen Latifah, Lil’ Kim and the group Naughty By Nature, has been in jail since his arrest in 2009 and had an earlier trial end in a hung jury.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office alleged Bergrin used his law office to run a racketeering enterprise that engaged in drug trafficking, prostitution, bribery, plotting to murder witnesses and money laundering.