Judge Sets Curfew for Attorney

                   A Federal Judge Granted Bond to a Well-known
                   Miami Lawyer on Monday as He Waits Trial on
                     Money-Laundering and Obstruction Charges

By Sara Olkon
The Miami Herald
March 1, 2005

Prominent Miami-Dade County attorney Samuel I. Burstyn will be free on bond as he fights federal money-laundering and obstruction of justice charges, a federal judge ruled late Monday afternoon.

Burstyn, 52, was arrested Wednesday at his $4.8 million Miami Beach home on Sunset Island and held at the Federal Detention Center.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys J. Brian McCormick and Michael Dittoe charge that Burstyn acted as ''house counsel'' for a group of drug dealers, instructing them to lie or, in one case, flee from justice.

On Monday, prosecutors added a startling allegation to the mix. Dittoe said he had evidence that Burstyn had encouraged a former client in the 1980s -- a bad cop turned government witness named Rodolfo ''Rudy'' Arias from the Miami River Cops scandal -- to kill two government witnesses.

Burstyn's defense attorney, Ed Shohat, railed against the government's allegation.

''How was Mr. Burstyn not indicted?'' he asked rhetorically. ``This at the 11th hour, 59th minute, we hear about the Miami River Cops?''

Shohat asked U.S. Magistrate Judge Barry Seltzer to look at the source of the allegations: ``Convicted drug dealers looking to save themselves.''

Seltzer later said he would not lend much weight to such allegations.

In the Miami River Cops scandal, prosecutors said police officers took part in a ring that ripped off more than 700 kilos of cocaine from drug dealers along the river in the summer of 1985. The investigation lasted years, with more than 100 officers being arrested, fired, suspended or reprimanded for their involvement in the conspiracy.

Under the terms of Burstyn's $400,000 bond, Seltzer prohibited him from taking on any new cases. The judge granted Burstyn permission to continue any pending work, but said he must notify all parties about the indictment. He must also abide by an 11 p.m. curfew and surrender his passport.

In a 16-page indictment unsealed last week, the government charged that Burstyn lent nearly $500,000 to an auto business owned by a group of drug dealers, taking drug money as collateral.

A key to the government's case will be proving that Burstyn knew that the collateral fronted by his clients for his $498,000 loan came from drug proceeds.

The drug dealers later pleaded guilty on racketeering charges and are serving time in prison for running what was an $80 million marijuana distribution network, according to court documents.

Burstyn, who was indicted under seal in October, could face 20 years in prison if convicted on all seven counts. His next court date is March 14.

  High-Profile Lawyer Charged With Laundering Drug Money

Catherine Wilson
The Associated Press
February 25, 2005

A high-profile attorney with a list of celebrity clients was charged Wednesday with allegedly covering up a loan backed with $500,000 in drug profits, and coaching a federal grand jury witness to lie about it.

At an initial court appearance in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., attorney Sam Burstyn was ordered jailed until a Monday bond hearing.

The charges stem from a loan made by Burstyn to an undisclosed owner of a company called Auto Fund of Atlanta in 1998, for which he allegedly took drug money as collateral, prosecutors charged.

One company owner, Jeffrey Tobin, who was indicted on marijuana smuggling charges last year, repaid part of the loan with checks, but Burstyn was allegedly unwilling to use the cash collateral as repayment "because of possible detection by law enforcement," the indictment said.

Burstyn -- whose celebrity clients have included actress Robin Givens, and the estranged wives of tennis player Boris Becker and German billionaire Alexander Otto -- allegedly acted as "house counsel" for the $80 million marijuana smuggling venture, the indictment charged. Prosecutors alleged Burstyn tried to cover up the loan by advising a grand jury witness to lie about it.

"If you were to see him now, you would be struck by how confident he is that he will be acquitted," said Robert Dunlap, who represented Burstyn in court Wednesday.

Copyright 2005 Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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