STAMFORD, Conn. (AP) – As a defense attorney, James Ruane formed a strong bond with a client who was one of Bridgeport’s biggest drug dealers, authorities say. The relationship was so close that the drug dealer, Frank Estrada, says he was willing to kill to help Ruane.

Ruane has not been charged and denies involvement in the alleged scheme. But federal prosecutors say they will present the account as they try Estrada’s associate, Eddie Mercado, for the 1996 murder of Aida Escalera. The trial, which could lead to the death penalty if Mercado is convicted, starts Thursday in U.S. District Court in Bridgeport.

Defense attorneys, meanwhile, say Estrada is a devil worshipper with ulterior motives. Estrada could win a reduced sentence for the murder because of his cooperation with authorities.

Prosecutors would not say if Ruane is under investigation, but court papers filed by defense attorneys reveal that the Bridgeport attorney is a target of the investigation.

Ruane denies he had anything to do with the murder or that he helped the drug ring. The account has come up in earlier trials as well.

“It’s been Chinese water torture,” said Joseph Martini, Ruane’s attorney. “To suggest he had anything to do with the murder of Aida Escalera is absolutely outrageous and ridiculous.”

Estrada, 35, also known as “The Terminator,” pleaded guilty last year to killing Escalera. She was a potential witness in a state murder case in which Ruane represented the defendant.

Estrada will testify at Mercado’s trial that he ordered Mercado and another man to kill Escalera “as part of an arrangement” he made with Ruane, according to court documents prosecutors filed last week. Prosecutors say Estrada had contacted Ruane for help in another murder case involving his sister, Frances, and her daughter.

“At their meeting, according to Frank Estrada, Ruane raised the issue of certain witnesses who were to testify against a client of his who was about to stand trial for murder and assault,” prosecutors wrote. “One of those witnesses was Aida Escalera. Ruane told Estrada that it would not be a bad thing if one of the witnesses disappeared. Frank Estrada understood from his conversation with Ruane that Ruane wanted him to get rid of Escelera in exchange for Ruane’s assistance to Frances and Star whom the police wanted to question.”

Prosecutors said they sought Ruane’s removal in 2000 in another case after police discovered government documents provided to Ruane in Estrada’s apartment before he was arrested that detailed the brand names of Estrada’s heroin. Around the same time, Estrada stopped using those brand names, authorities said.

“With the assistance of his longtime attorney, Estrada was able to take steps to avoid prosecution, pour drug proceeds into various businesses and other assets, and remain at liberty for more than five years, despite being one of the most prolific drug dealers in Bridgeport,” prosecutors wrote.

The attorney remained involved behind the scenes during Estrada’s prosecution after he was forced to withdraw, authorities said.

In seeking Ruane’s removal, prosecutors said a grand jury was investigating how Estrada got the documents and said criminal charges could be brought against the attorney.

During a related trial in 2003, attorney Robert Casale challenged Estrada for telling the FBI that Ruane asked him to commit a murder so he could win a case.

“He certainly didn’t ask you to do that?,” Casale said, according to the Connecticut Post.

“Yes, he did,” Estrada said.

“Now you’re telling us that your lawyer at the time asked you to kill somebody so he could prevail in a totally unrelated case?” Casale asked.

“He wanted to win,” Estrada said.

Casale said the account did not make sense because there would be no motive to kill a witness in a case in which Ruane was pursuing an insanity defense.

Mercado’s attorney also challenges the account, saying in court papers that Estrada ordered the murder because Escalera was a witness to another murder Estrada had committed.

Escalera’s attorney, Frederic Pratt, also wants to admit evidence related to what he says is Estrada’s satanic worship. Citing testimony, he says Estrada kept an altar in which he placed photos of police officers, prosecutors and judges.

“The defense seeks admission of the evidence because it demonstrates as no other evidence does Mr. Estrada’s bias against the criminal justice system, the lengths to which Mr. Estrada will go to avoid apprehension and incarceration, and the fervor with which he has attempted to control events around him and to obstruct the administration of justice,” Pratt wrote.