Associated Press - July 10, 2009 6:05 PM ET

NEW YORK (AP) - The Manhattan lawyer who defended rapper Remy Ma at trial for shooting an acquaintance has pleaded guilty to misdemeanor tax evasion.

Prosecutors say Ivan Fisher admitted Friday that he failed to collect $51,916 in city and state withholding taxes from his law firm employees' wages between April 2006 and September 2008.

Fisher, who's 65, agreed in a plea deal to pay $68,517 in taxes, interest and penalties to the state Department of Taxation and another $10,000 in criminal fines.

If Fisher violates the plea agreement, he could face up to a year in jail.

This is not the first time. Prosecutors say Fisher had pleaded guilty in 1989 to three misdemeanor federal income tax evasion counts.

Fisher's client Remy "Ma" Smith was sentenced to eight years in prison for shooting the acquaintance over missing money.

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