Ex-DEA agent accused of corruption and a 'little dark secret' gets his day in court
Patrick Lakamp
After waiting more than four years, Joseph Bongiovanni’s day in court is upon him.
The retired DEA agent could very well spend the next two months on trial in a federal courtroom in Buffalo on charges he accepted at least $250,000 in bribes from drug dealers whom he thought were associated with Italian organized crime and shielded them from arrest, as well as provided them with information about investigations and cooperating sources.
Jury selection starts Monday.
Given that 88 court documents have been sealed, there’s plenty of evidence not yet publicly known about his case. But pretrial hearings and the public court filings offer a glimpse of what prosecutors intend to delve into as they seek to convict the first DEA special agent in Western New York charged with bribery and corruption.
Prosecutors describe one witness as a co-conspirator who is expected to testify that he participated in a conversation about marijuana shipments.
“He’s going to talk about the words he heard come out of other people’s mouths and his participation in that conversation: who the people were, what they said,” said Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicholas Cooper at a recent court proceeding.
Other testimony is expected to cover:
Bongiovanni’s associations with drug dealers and alleged drug use.
--His finances, described by prosecutors as strained.
--What he told fellow DEA agents about his dealings with co-defendant Peter Gerace Jr., the owner of Pharaoh’s Gentlemen’s Club in Cheektowaga, who will be tried later.
--His alleged fondness for Italian organized crime members.
During the trial, prosecutors and defense attorneys will argue over which statements and evidence can be used against Bongiovanni.
The judge who will preside at the trial has already made clear what it will not become: a deep dive into the inner workings and hierarchy of organized crime in Western New York.
“This is not going to become a trial about whether Mr. Gerace’s grandfather was the head of the Italian organized crime,” U.S. District Judge Lawrence Vilardo said.
Snip…
The two bribery counts allege Bongiovanni was paid at least $250,000 to mislead others in law enforcement and provide sensitive information about investigations and help those he believed connected to Italian
Snip…
The two counts of conspiracy to distribute controlled substance covers his alleged involvement with Masecchia and Gerace. The first count alleges Bongiovanni conspired with Masecchia and others to distribute marijuana and cocaine. The second count alleges he conspired with Gerace and others to possess with intent to distribute and to distribute cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, Adderall and marijuana.
Snip…
Bongiovanni’s lawyers have expressed doubt over the admissibility of evidence suggesting he was aware of drug use at a party in Toronto.
They say the government intends to point to the party as an example of Bongiovanni being comfortable around drug use and associating with people who take drugs.
A person at the party who was also involved in drugs will testify, Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Tripi said at a recent hearing.
Also, a government witness who has known Bongiovanni for decades will testify to Bongiovanni’s alleged drug use as a DEA agent as well as when both were in their 20s, Tripi said. That witness used cocaine with Bongiovanni early and later in Bongiovanni’s life, and the witness and a “circle of friends later conspired and bribed him,” Tripi said
Snip…
If Bongiovanni was at a party in Toronto with people who may have been sneaking off to a bathroom to use drugs, it’s not an act of deceit or part of some conspiracy if he didn’t arrest anybody, Singer said.
Vilardo asked the defense lawyers, “Why isn’t hanging out with these folks, allegedly using drugs with these folks, and ignoring the use of drugs by other folks, why isn’t that all part of the story here?”
“If all the co-conspirators got together every Friday night, used cocaine together and hung out, that might go to telling the story about the formation of a conspiracy,” Singer replied.
That’s not what the Toronto party was, he said.
“It was a birthday party for Mr. Bongiovanni’s sister-in-law,” Singer said, adding that the witness who will testify about the party had never before met Bongiovanni.
Snip…
The trial is expected to clarify the roles, if any, of others linked to the Bongiovanni investigation. The Buffalo News reported in 2021 that Ronald Serio is one of the drug traffickers whom prosecutors sought to connect to the former federal drug agent.
Snip…
At least one DEA agent who worked with Bongiovanni is expected to testify.
When Bongiovanni learned about who his fellow agent was investigating, the agent said Bongiovanni asked him, “Do you hate Italians?”
Bongiovanni then allegedly told the agent he should instead be investigating Black people and Hispanics, using derogatory epithets for them, according to prosecutors.
Bongiovanni denies making the statement, Mackay said, adding there is no corroboration.
“Certainly, advising other agents to investigate somebody based on racial animus is a violation of duty,” said Jordan Dickson, a Department of Justice attorney.
Snip…
When agents were preparing to search Serio’s Amherst property, Anthony Gerace of Clarence showed up, briefly visited and was pulled over by Erie County deputies as he drove off with oxycodone pills in his car, according to a Homeland Security agent’s affidavit. Prosecutors called Anthony Gerace an unindicted co-conspirator in Bongiovanni’s case. He is Peter Gerace’s brother and nephew of Joseph A. Todaro, who federal officials have claimed leads the Buffalo Mafia. Todaro has denied that.
Prosecutors say Bongiovanni was protecting people whom he understood to be part of Italian organized crime.
Vilardo said Bongiovanni’s “thoughts about Italian organized crime ... and so forth can come in” at the trial.But he said, “the focus of this is not what the government thinks, it’s not what the rumors are – it’s what’s in your client’s head.”
Snip…
Here is the link to the article:
https://buffalonews.com/news/local/crim ... 057b3.html
