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Read the press release here.

Jose Pimentel Gets New Lawyer After Legal Aid Conflict

By DNAinfo Staff on November 22, 2011 7:58pm

MANHATTAN CRIMINAL COURT — The Hamilton Heights man accused of plotting to bomb city workers and military personnel was assigned a new attorney Tuesday after the Legal Aid Soicety said it had a conflict.

The confidential informant who helped cops bust Jose Pimentel is also being defended by Legal Aid in an unrelated case, the agency and court officials said. 

After Legal Aid was assigned to represent Pimentel's case, the agency learned from prosecutors that it was also representing the confidential informant.  The firm was not told who the confidential informant was or what he or she was charged with, Legal Aid spokesperson Pat Bath said.

The Legal Aid Society, a nonprofit that offers pro bono legal services, handles 240,000 cases per year in the city, the firm said.

Pimentel's new attorney is Lori Cohen, a private criminal defense lawyer who is on a panel of Manhattan attorneys who receive assigned criminal cases.

When reached by phone Tuesday, Cohen said she had not yet spoken to Pimentel and was hoping to meet with him on Wednesday.

While the confidential informant's identity is unknown, the possibility of his or her criminality may come into play as Pimentel's case proceeds, Cohen said.

"In every case credibility is a big issue, especially in a case like this where there's a claim that [Pimentel] was led to do things he might not have done," Cohen said. 

"The credibility of the person who led him to do those things will certainly be an issue," she added.

Sources told DNAinfo that the role played by the confidential informant dissuaded federal investigators from pursuing an investigation of Pimentel's radical activities, when investigators were approached by the NYPD.

"We take these requests quite seriously,” a federal official told DNAinfo's "On the Inside." "The fact that we are not involved says something."

Pimentel's previous counsel waived his right to a speedy indictment, and Pimentel is next due back in court on Dec. 5.

Prosecutors said Pimentel "took active steps" to bomb buildings and was planning to test out his explosive creations in Washington Heights, where he worked closely with the police informant.