Toolbox

Presiding in the Roger Khan drug case, Justice Dora L Irizarry, has ordered attorney Robert Simels to file a motion in support of his letter to withdraw from Khan’s case since she found his informal application for withdrawal insufficient.

Simels and an assistant were arrested two weeks ago for alleged witness tampering in Khan’s case. Last week he had requested through a letter to withdraw from Khan’s case. Khan is also named in the 18-page complaint where the three reportedly attempted to use a US informant to among other things “neutralize” suspected prosecution witnesses in the drug case.

The lawyer has been ordered by the judge to file the document, which must be no more than three pages, setting forth the grounds for his request. The motion must be filed no later than October 1 and it would be addressed at the status conference on the drug case set for the following day.

One of the bail conditions for the witness tampering charge is that Simels should have no contact with Khan.

Meanwhile, another lawyer for Khan, John Bergendahl, may also have to withdraw from the case as the prosecution has pointed out a possible conflict of interest because of his representation of Sabrina Budhram who is awaiting sentence on the money laundering charge she pleaded guilty to. The conflict of interest may arise from the fact that evidence found in the home of the couple could but used against Khan in the trial.

Judge Irizarry has noted that Bergendahl has not responded to the prosecution’s letters alerting the court and the defence of a potential conflict in his representation of the defendant in the case. “Moreover, as is borne out by a thorough review of the docket sheet, Mr. Bergendahl has not appeared at any of the conferences held in this matter since July 13, 2007, nor has he participated in any part of the extensive motion practice conducted herein,” the judge pointed out.

She ordered that Bergendahl appear at the October 2 conference and that he and the prosecution should be prepared to address the conflict of interest issue at that time.

Related Articles


You can follow responses to this article through its RSS feed.

Subscribe to our electronic edition or get home delivery!


Reader Comments

  1. Fulano de Tal UNITED STATES says:

    Well done!!! As RK sits languishing alone in his “box’ he may consider revealing his contacts back home. A constant drop of water makes a hole in the sturdiest of material. This is only the beginning of his woes justice must be served for all the innocent souls made to mourn.

  2. evileyes CANADA says:

    Justice will be served for those who wreaked havoc on the innocent…

    • FINE MAN UNITED STATES says:

      That is just what your boy was doing. Now you have to come to grips with the fact that your saviour is going to jail for a long time.

  3. Jack UNITED STATES says:

    Innocent Souls? I am sure RK has to pay for his own Sins but seriously do you believe anyone he was associated with is an Innocent Soul?

    Come on people stop being naive.

  4. cochore UNITED STATES says:

    RK, banna it looks like you’re running out of Lawyers, I’m available and capable but it’s going to cost everything you’ve got both in Guyana and the USA….. Like the saying goes ‘crime pays until ya get caught’.

  5. evileyes CANADA says:

    hahaha yeayea after de bad men gone six foot unda ehehehe My boy? I think you got me mixed up with someone else….I have no boy since me boy died in 85….ehehehehehe

  6. lambada UNITED STATES says:

    fineman, this is for you, RK suceed where the js failed,



Leave a Reply

About Comments



The Comments section of this website is intended to provide a forum for reasoned and reasonable debate on the newspaper's content and is an extension of the newspaper and what it has become well known for over its history: accuracy, balance and fairness.

We reserve the right to edit/delete comments which contain attacks on other users, slander, coarse language and profanity, and gratuitous and incendiary references to race and ethnicity.

Curious about the little images next to each commenter's name ? Go here and sign up using the same email address you used to register for Stabroeknews.com then upload your image and confirm it.

More articles in Local News