Saul Goodman, is that you?
Apparently, you don't have to be a fictional lawyer on a tv series in order to break bad.
A federal judge has sentenced defense lawyer Isaac Guillen to seven years in prison following his conviction on racketeering and money laundering charges for his role with the 18th Street gang which was controlled from inside prison by Mexican Mafia member Francisco "Puppet" Martinez as reported by Victoria Kim for the Los Angeles Times: "prosecutors said Guillen was an instrumental part of the gang's operations rather than an unwitting marginal character who had been sucked into its criminal activities."
The so-called legal profession is full of criminals masquerading as lawyers.
A racketeering trial against federal-prosecutor-turned-defense-lawyer Paul Bergrin began last week in Newark, NJ as reported by Peter J. Sampson for The Record: Bergrin "is accused of using his Newark law practice as a racketeering enterprise to traffic in multi-kilo quantities of cocaine, run a high-profile call-girl ring, and tamper with witnesses by bribery, intimidation and murder."
And last November federal authorities arrested Marco Antonio Delgado, a 46-year-old lawyer from El Paso, TX, for allegedly laundering more than $600 million for the Milenio drug cartel or Cártel de los Valencia as reported by Lorena Figueroa for the El Paso Times.
If citizens cannot expect better from officers of the court then perhaps the American experiment which depends upon a legal system beyond reproach is over.
Further reading that may be of interest:
