N.Y. Defense Attorney’s Trial Begins in Witness-Tampering Case

Trial began Monday in the prosecution of Robert Simels, a prominent New York defense attorney charged with plotting with a client to threaten and bribe witnesses to prevent them from testifying. In defending his client, drug kingpin Shaheed Khan, Simels employed a "win at all costs" strategy, the prosecutor told the jury. But according to Simels' attorney, Simels was simply practicing the careful "art of extracting information," with "never an intention" to tamper with witnesses.