The New York Post today reported that convicted drug lord Shaheed “Roger” Khan and mortgage fraudster Ed Ahmad are among possible witnesses whose stories or testimony will feature in the upcoming trial of Brooklyn state Sen. John Sampson.
Sampson, the former Democratic leader of the Senate, is facing charges of obstructing justice, witness and evidence tampering and lying to an FBI agent. His trial is expected to begin June 22 in Brooklyn federal court.
The New York Post said that the names were listed in the questionnaire given to potential jurors in the case.
Ahmad, was convicted in a mortgage-fraud scheme and the report said that he will figure prominently in the trial. He cooperated with prosecutors and wore a wire in the Sampson case.
Ahmad a real-estate broker, channelled cash to Meeks and Sampson. He pleaded guilty in October 2012 to mortgage fraud but has yet to be sentenced, apparently because he is still co-operating with the authorities.
Ahmad had given his friend Sampson US$188,500 in 2006 to repay funds the senator allegedly embezzled from escrow accounts he supervised as a lawyer in private practice.
Sampson was charged with embezzlement in 2013, but the charges were dismissed last year because the statute of limitations had expired.
Sampson, 49, who has been in the Senate since 1997, is also accused of trying to pressure someone in the US Attorney’s Office to learn the names of those cooperating in the Ahmad case and telling Ahmad he could arrange to “take them out,” legal papers say.
The report said that Sampson, who is of Guyanese heritage, travelled to Guyana frequently, sometimes meeting Ahmad.
Khan who is alleged to have headed a death squad and narcotics trafficking ring here pleaded guilty in Brooklyn federal court in 2009 in a cocaine-trafficking scheme. His lawyer, Robert Simels, was later convicted of witness tampering and other charges in the case.
Ahmad’s case evoked particular interest in Guyana because of his relationship with former President Bharrat Jagdeo. At one point a container from Ahmad with goods for Jagdeo was parked on the grounds of State House when Jagdeo lived there.
Jagdeo has also had connections with Sampson and has repeatedly been queried about whether he had ties to Khan. Several weeks ago, for the first time publicly, he disavowed any relationship with Khan.
