Ben, Ben, he’s our man . . .

Yesterday Melvyn Weiss, the legendary founding member of Milberg Weiss, agreed to plead guilty to a criminal conspiracy to pay a share of legal fees to plaintiffs in his firm's shareholder suits. Such payments are considered illegal kickbacks because they might induce plaintiffs to accept a deal that may not be best for their fellow plaintiffs. Under the deal, Weiss faces 18 to 33 months in federal prison. His lawyer, Benjamin Brafman of Brafman & Associates, released a statement saying that he is “hopeful and confident that the Court will recognize Mel Weiss to be one of the true legal giants of his generation and a consummate humanitarian whose contributions to the Bar and the world community have been nothing short of spectacular.”

The prosecution’s case against Weiss must be ironclad and insurmountable. Ben Brafman is one of the toughest and most talented criminal trial lawyers in the country. I should know – I used to be his partner. If he is signing off on this plea deal, nobody could get Mel off the rap. If Ben can't do it , nobody can! CR