Milberg case finally over

Paul Selzer, the last remaining defendant in the Milberg Weiss kickback prosecution, has agreed to plead guilty, though in sort of a loopy way. As part of the deal, the 67-year-old attorney admits that Milberg Weiss sent $49,000 to his law firm, Best, Best & Krieger, which he then applied to his client Seymour Lazar's legal bills. He enters his plea on Monday in federal court in L.A. "Selzer intentionally failed to report or disclose to the IRS that Lazar was the true beneficiary of the payments from Milberg Weiss," prosecutors wrote in a court filing reported by the Daily Journal (no link). They're recommending a $250,000 fine and probation served as home detention. Selzer had been scheduled to stand trial next month.

While investigating with members of the U.S. Postal Inspection Agency, prosecutors concluded Lazar had received $1.1 million in kickbacks from Milberg. They believed the payments were disguised as referral fees to Selzer. Lazar refused to assist prosecutors in their investigation. Selzer, who had handled legal matters for him, also refused to cooperate. But Selzer had worked at Best, Best & Krieger from 1984 to 1995, which opened its books to prosecutors. In June 2005, a federal grand jury in Los Angeles indicted Lazar and Selzer for honest services fraud, alleging they had engaged in a secret and illegal kickback conspiracy with Milberg Weiss.