BUFFALO, N.Y. — A federal jury on Friday convicted a former U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agent of obstruction of justice and lying to federal agents. But jurors acquitted Joseph Bongiovanni of a charge that he improperly wiped his DEA cellphone and failed to reach a verdict on a dozen other charges, including allegations the longtime agent pocketed $250,000 in bribes from the Buffalo Mafia.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Tripi said prosecutors will seek to retry Bongiovanni as soon as possible on the corruption charges that hung the jury, including allegations the agent shielded a sex-trafficking strip club outside Buffalo, New York, and derailed investigations into his childhood friends.Trump will be first ex-president on criminal trial.
Prosecutors described Bongiovanni’s betrayal as a “little dark secret” fueled by his own financial woes and a misplaced loyalty to the city’s tight-knit Italian American community. At one point, they said, heto spend less time investigating Italians and more time on Blacks and Hispanics, allegedly using racial slurs for both groups.
Prosecutors said Bongiovanni went through financial struggles during his two-decade career that made him vulnerable to taking bribes. They pointed to tens of thousands of dollars of what they said were unexplained cash deposits into Bongiovanni’s bank account.
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