Latest update March 21st, 2025 7:03 AM
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Simels to face judge Tuesday for witness tampering
Robert Simels
Attorney-at-law Robert Simels will appear before Judge Dora Irizarry on Tuesday where the trial against him for witness tampering in the case in the US Government against embattled Guyanese businessmen Shaheed ‘Roger’ Khan will commence.
Simels, along with an associate of his, Arienne Irving, and Khan, were all indicted on September 19 for attempting to “eliminate” the main witness against Khan.
Recent revelations based on an undercover operation saw charges being laid against Irving, Simels and Khan. The attorney and his associate had managed to secure bail to the tune of US$3.5M and US$500,000 respectively.
Simels also had recently indicated to Judge Irizarry in a motion that he would sever all contact with Khan purposely to focus on his own defence.
There are now rife speculations that Khan’s remaining attorneys may abandon him, given that they were all recruited by Simels.
If convicted, Simels faces as many as ten years in jail. The developments already threaten to push back the start date for Khan’s trial, which was slated for early November. Simels’s lawyer, in an earlier statement, had said that he plans to fight the accusations levelled against his client.
Simels was arrested just over two weeks ago and accused in an 18-page federal complaint of paying an alleged ‘Phantom Squad’ member US$1,000 for the hit, which also included strict orders not to kill the witness’s mother.
Khan allegedly told Simels that the case against him hinged on one man — identified in court papers as “John Doe No 1.” Simels wanted to “eliminate” and “neutralize” the witness, authorities said.
He allegedly told a government informant at one point that, “Obviously, any witness you can eliminate is a good thing.” The feds said that on June 19, 2008, Simels met with the government informant in his Manhattan office and handed over a US$1,000 down payment for the hit.
The two were reportedly caught on tape, according to the federal complaint, with Simels saying, “Here’s $1,000 to get started.”
When the undercover informant said, “No problem,” Simels replied, “All [Khan] says is be careful. He says don’t kill the [witness’s] mother.”
During the brief conversation, Simels also said, “Well, [Khan] would like as much pressure being put on [John Doe No. 1] as possible.”
The authorities revealed that a five-month investigation, which involved a confidential source who was cooperating with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) against Khan, Simels and Irving, eventually led to the indictment.
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