Former Buffalo DEA Agent Convicted of Corruption
A former Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) special agent was convicted of corruption for protecting drug traffickers and others with links to organized crime.
60-year-old Joseph Bongiovanni, who worked out of the DEA’s Buffalo, New York office, was found guilty on seven of 11 counts by a federal jury.
“The prosecution of law enforcement officers and public officials are the most difficult cases that are undertaken by prosecutors,” stated U.S. Attorney Trini Ross of the Western District of New York. “However, these verdicts show that no one is above the law, not even a federal agent.”
Prosecutors say that for at least a decade, Bongiovanni shielded childhood friends who became drug dealers as well as other suspects with links to organized crime by tipping them off about investigations, revealing the identifies of informants, and providing information about law enforcement tactics. The former DEA agent is also accused of falsifying DEA reports to protect the suspects and of taking at least $250,000 in bribes.
The case is also connected to a sex-trafficking ring involving a strip club outside of Buffalo. Bongiovanni was childhood friends with the club’s owner Peter Gerace Jr. who is awaiting trial on numerous charges, including that he bribed Bongiovanni.
“Federal agents hold a significant amount of authority and trust to keep the American people safe. Therefore, when the FBI learns of allegations including bribery, obstruction of justice, and lying to investigators, a rigorous investigation unfolds. Our investigation, re-enforced by the jury’s verdict, found that former DEA agent Joseph Bongiovanni chose greed over integrity,” said Buffalo FBI Special Agent-in-Charge Matthew Miraglia.
This was Bongiovanni’s second trial. In April he was convicted lying to federal authorities about a DEA file he kept at home. But the jury could not reach an agreement on the other charges.
Sentencing is set for June. His attorney plans to appeal.
Bongiovanni is among at least 16 DEA agents brought up on federal corruption charges since 2015.