He has represented Lil' Kim, mobsters, and gang leaders. But somewhere along the way, he allegedly became quite the criminal himself.

Federal prosecutors say Paul Bergrin had a wintess killed in a drug case, hired a hit man to kill another, and used a Newark restaurant as front for a cocaine ring.

The Philadelphia Inquirer has the full story here. Talking Points Memo covered it here.

The Inquirer: Bergrin, a former federal prosecutor, [was]...arraigned [Monday] with seven codefendants in U.S. District Court in Newark.

All were named in a superseding indictment handed up earlier this month that expanded on charges originally filed when Bergrin was arrested in May...

Though the indictment includes one murder and one murder conspiracy, investigators contend that witnesses have linked Bergrin to at least three other homicides.

They also say Bergrin routinely bribed witnesses to win cases. And, they contend, when bribery wasn't an option, he resorted to violence.

Bergrin once represented Jason Itzler, the "King of All Pimps" who ran the escort service New York Confidential. Prosecutors say Bergrin took it over once Itzler was sent to jail.

Bergrin is reported to be a tough character ("No witness, no case" he often said) and recorded conversations support that description. In talking to a potential hit man -- who was actually a witness cooperating with the government -- Bergin reportedly said, "Put on a ski mask and make it look like a robbery. . . . It cannot under any circumstances look like a hit . . . make it look like a home-invasion robbery."

In another conversation, the "hit man" spoke to a co-defendant in the case, who indicated Bergrin himself had "done work," underworld parlance for committing murder. "Paul's a stone killer, bro," he said.