Page 6 - ARUBA TODAY

A6 U.S. NEWS
Tuesday 15 augusT 2017
Questions about lawyers’ fees put El Chapo defense in limbo

By TOM HAYS it won’t go after money
Associated Press spent on a private defense.
NEW YORK (AP) — Private Michelle Gelernt, a public
lawyers seeking to repre- defender currently repre-
sent Joaquin “El Chapo” senting Guzman, called
Guzman in his U.S. drug- that position “hypocritical.”
trafficking case failed to Lichtman is known for suc-
get assurances Monday cessfully defended John
that they’ll get paid, leav- “Junior” Gotti, son of the
ing the Mexican drug lord’s notorious organized crime
defense in limbo. family boss, at a 2005 trial.
During a hearing in fed- The younger Gotti walked
eral court in Brooklyn, U.S. free after an acquittal on a
District Judge Brian Cogan securities fraud count and
told the lawyers that if they a mistrial on more serious
took the case, there was racketeering counts.
no guarantee that pros- The lawyer said he has met
ecutors wouldn’t later seize with Guzman on a weekly
their fees if they could show basis, hoping to defend
that the money came from him at a trial in April.
his estimated $14 billion in “He is charming, funny,
drug profits. highly intelligent.
“I’m not going to pressure I enjoyed getting to know
the government to create him. ... I don’t judge some-
a carve-out for counsel In this courtroom sketch, Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, second from right, and Assistant US Attorney one by what I read in the
fees,” Cogan said. Andrea Goldbarg, seated in foreground, listen to Michelle Gelernt, left, a public defender, during papers,” Lichtman told
Guzman smiled and waved a hearing in federal court in the Brooklyn borough of New York, Monday, Aug. 14, 2017. The Associated Press last
at family members as he (Elizabeth Williams via AP) week.q
was led into the courtroom, jail visit he’s had by fam- get,” said one of the law-
but he didn’t speak during ily member since he was yers, Jeffrey Lichtman.
the brief appearance. brought to the U.S. from Prosecutors have argued Little Rock’s 42nd homicide
Afterward, the lawyers told Mexico in January. that taxpayers shouldn’t
reporters that they still hope “We are looking forward, have to pay for his defense. matches last year’s mark
to find a way to represent desperately, to come into But they also said in a let-
Guzman. this case and fight for Joa- ter to the court last week
They said they were waiting quin Guzman. ... The guy that the government will By KELLY P. KISSEL es are located along the
for him to consult with his has a constitutional right not “grant a blanket pro- Associated Press frontage road, and traffic
sister on Thursday — the first to the best counsel he can spective assurance” that LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — volume was higher than
Little Rock matched its ho- usual Monday because
micide total from all of last most schools reopened.
year Monday when the “It could be a robbery,”
body of a man was found McClanahan said. “I don’t
near an interstate highway think it’s a homeless per-
hours after shots were re- son based on how he’s
ported nearby. dressed” — in jeans, a shirt
According to a police and shoes. He said the
statement, the body of area in which the body
28-year-old Antwon Bryant was found isn’t known for
of Little Rock was found gang activity.
face down and shot multi- The death, plus two others
ple times in the grass about since Saturday night, puts
10 feet off an Interstate 30 Little Rock on a pace to
frontage road. An autopsy approach an annual total
has been ordered. not seen since the city’s
Bryant was the city’s 42nd gang wars of the early
homicide victim of 2017, 1990s. Justice Department
matching the total for all of figures show 68 deaths in
2016. 1993 attributed to murder
Police spokesman Lt. Steve or manslaughter. McCla-
McClanahan said a pass- nahan said other killings,
er-by called to report see- such as justifiable homi-
ing a body about three cide, pushed the total to 78
blocks away from where that year.
shots had been reported Mayor Mark Stodola, who
overnight. was the local prosecutor
“He’s far enough off the during the height of Little
roadway that I guarantee Rock’s gang wars, said the
you hundreds of vehicles prevalence of drugs plus
drove past him this morning people wanting to take the
before this person saw him. law into their own hands
No doubt,” McClanahan was driving a general crime
said. A handful of business- rate increase.q