After Hung Jury, NJ Lawyer Faces Second Trial

A New Jersey attorney whose recent murder trial ended without a verdict is facing another trial.

The U.S. Attorney's Office says in a court filing Thursday that it will try Paul Bergrin on numerous counts that include racketeering and drug trafficking.

Bergrin's trial on charges he set up the murder of a government informant ended in a hung jury last month. The murder and racketeering charges were part of the same 2009 indictment against Bergrin and several others, but a judge ruled the murder charges would be tried separately.

The government contends Bergrin operated his law practice as a racketeering enterprise that specialized in drug trafficking, money laundering, witness tampering and prostitution.

Several other defendants arrested with Bergrin have pleaded guilty.

The new trial is tentatively scheduled for early January.

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