Former DEA agent Joseph Bongiovanni guilty on 7 counts: 'This was corruption, through and through'

Jurors on Thursday found Bongiovanni guilty on seven of the 11 counts he faced in U.S. District Court, making him the first DEA agent in Western New York convicted of corruption.

“There is never anything to celebrate when someone in law enforcement misuses the power granted to them to commit crimes such as these,” U.S. Attorney Trini E. Ross said at a news conference. “However, these verdicts show that no one, not even a federal law enforcement agent, is above the law.”

Bongiovanni was acquitted of accepting a bribe from the Ronald Serio drug-trafficking organization. And he was found not guilty of one count of conspiracy to defraud the U.S., one count of conspiracy to distribute controlled substances and one count of obstruction of justice – all charges that named Peter Gerace Jr., the owner of Pharaoh’s Gentlemen’s Club in Cheektowaga.

Among the convictions, the jury found Bongiovanni guilty of conspiracy to defraud the United States, agreeing with prosecutors that from 2008 until 2019, Bongiovanni used his position as a DEA special agent to shield the Ronald Serio drug-trafficking organization from investigations, including marijuana trafficker Michael Masecchia, whom he believed to be connected to Italian organized crime. Masecchia did not testify at Bongiovanni’s two-month long retrial. But Lou Selva, a childhood friend and the best man at Bongiovanni’s wedding, told jurors he negotiated with Bongiovanni the bribes that Serio paid Bongiovanni, amounting to at least $250,000, according to prosecutors.

Complete coverage: The case of ex-DEA agent Joseph Bongiovanni

So, among the two conspiracy to defraud the U.S. counts that Bongiovanni faced, it was the one Selva testified about that led to a conviction – not the one for reportedly protecting Gerace and his Cheektowaga strip club from federal narcotics investigations.

Among the two counts of conspiracy to distribute controlled substances, it was the count related to the Serio organization that jurors convicted him on – not the one for reportedly conspiring with Gerace to make Pharaoh’s a drug-involved premises where cocaine, marijuana and other drugs were used and sold.

Bongiovanni’s three Gerace-related convictions – two counts of obstruction of justice and one count of false statement to a U.S. agency – were for internal DEA memos he wrote and for what he told investigators about his past contact with Gerace.

The jury returned the verdict 66 days after testimony started Aug. 5 in the high-profile case in which prosecutors sought to convict Bongiovanni of accepting bribes, shielding drug traffickers and lying to investigators.

U.S. District Court Judge Lawrence Vilardo did not detain Bongiovanni after the jury’s foreperson read the verdicts for each of the counts. Vilardo set a sentencing date for June 9, putting it off longer than usual. Bongiovanni faces 20 years in prison, but federal prosecutors say sentencing guidelines are complicated and they do not know yet what the recommended term length will be. Vilardo granted the defense team’s request for two months to submit motions to vacate the guilty verdicts, and he gave prosecutors two months to respond to the defense submission.

Bongiovanni, 60, faced 11 charges, including bribery and conspiracy to defraud the U.S. for reportedly using his position as a DEA special agent to protect members of the Ron Serio drug-trafficking organization whom he thought were associated with Italian organized crime. Prosecutors claim he received $2,000 and then $4,000 a month in bribes – totaling at least $250,000 – to provide the organization information about investigations and cooperating sources and to shield its members from arrest by feigning investigations and manipulating informants.

Other charges included conspiracy to distribute controlled substances; obstruction of justice, related to reportedly false entries in DEA reports and memos about his dealings with Gerace; and making false statements to a U.S. agency for denying that he initiated contact with Gerace or witnessed Gerace use narcotics.

Prosecutors described Bongiovanni as torn between his job as a DEA special agent and his loyalty to childhood friends who grew up to be drug traffickers and reputed associates and members of Italian organized crime in Buffalo.

Selva testified that he pitched Bongiovanni on a formal arrangement with the drug-trafficking group that put the then-DEA agent on a retainer for $2,000 a month, eventually growing to $4,000 monthly. Selva said he was aware of Bongiovanni’s financial pressures and occasional cocaine use, so he felt safe broaching the idea.

Serio said he has never met Bongiovanni in person, but provided the cash to Masecchia for Bongiovanni’s monthly retainer to provide cover to the drug-trafficking organization.

Masecchia, another childhood friend of Bongiovanni’s who went to high school and college with him, was “the muscle and the money man” responsible for making face-to-face cash payments to Bongiovanni, Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Tripi has said.

Selva said Bongiovanni would meet him once every month or so, with the DEA agent giving Selva information to deliver to the drug organization.

Defense plans to appeal

Bongiovanni’s lawyers said they intend to appeal the guilty verdicts.

“We have many reasons to believe that the (guilty) verdicts returned in this case are unjust,” defense attorney Robert Singer said. “We are going to aggressively pursue everything against those verdicts in the coming months, and we look forward to overturning them and clearing his good name and returning his good name to the city of Buffalo.”

Singer said the not-guilty verdicts returned by the jury cut against how prosecutors have portrayed Bongiovanni during a two-month trial and also since Bongiovanni’s initial indictment five years ago.

“Today, a jury of Joe Bongiovanni’s peers found unanimously a couple of different things, that Joe Bongiovanni never used drugs at all, that Joe Bongiovanni is not a racist who issued racial slurs, that Joe Bongiovanni is not a person who took bribes in any way from Ron Serio or anybody else, from Peter Gerace or anybody else,” Singer said. “In fact, he had no involvement in anything involving the Serio drug-trafficking organization or the Peter Gerace issue going on at Pharaoh’s.

“The only thing the jury came back and found today unanimously was that Joe Bongiovanni had a childhood friend, Lou Selva, who he may have known had something going on with marijuana at his house in his basement and didn’t say anything to the DEA about it. That’s what the jury came back today.

“They also came back with the fact that he may have misstated things in reports about initiating contact ever, once, with Peter Gerace, when his phone records said that he made at least one call like that, or that he had situations where he may have misstated something on his DEA reports – not made them perfect in the government’s eyes. That’s all the jury said today.”

‘A corrupt federal agent’

Tripi disputed the notion jurors found Bongiovanni guilty of the obstruction counts because of mistakes in his DEA reports.

“Make no mistake, this jury determined he was a corrupt federal agent, and he violated his oath and duties to protect those that he should have been investigating and arresting,” Tripi said at the news conference.

To be proven, the obstruction of justice charges based on what Bongiovanni wrote in internal DEA memos and reports required him to have a corrupt intent, Tripi said, “which means the jury rejected any notion of a mistake.”

And to gain the false statement conviction, prosecutors had to show Bongiovanni knowingly and willingly lied to the federal agents investigating him, Tripi said.

“Again, the jury’s verdict rejects any notion that this was a mistake,” Tripi said. “This was corruption, through and through.”

As for Bongiovanni’s reaction to the verdict, defense attorney Parker MacKay said “he’s still processing it.”

“We’ll speak with him more in the coming days,” Mackay said. “But best thing for him right now, he’s out of custody.”

The judge allowed him to remain out of custody on an ankle monitor.

The best man’s testimony

Before jurors rendered their verdict, they listened to a readback of Selva’s testimony about Selva’s marijuana-grow operation in his home’s basement and Bongiovanni’s visit to the home while Selva was growing marijuana there.

“He smelled it,” Selva testified, recounting Bongiovanni’s visit to his home. “And I told him what was going on.”

Selva, a former Erie County jail deputy, said Bongiovanni told him to be “double cautious” about limiting his electricity usage, given the 1,000-watt lamp he was using for the indoor grow operation. High electricity usage at a residence can be a “red flag” that prompts utilities and police to suspect indoor grows, Selva said.

All the while through the retrial, Bongiovanni’s defense lawyers sought to poke holes in the prosecution’s case – mainly with questions, but also by suggesting a nefarious motive from Selva whom they say falsely testified against the retired federal agent. Singer and MacKay, the defense lawyers, also stressed that no witness testified about directly putting cash into Bongiovanni’s hands as a bribe for the express purpose of protecting drug traffickers.

The defense attorneys attacked Selva as untrustworthy and said jurors should not believe his testimony.

Selva, “has no soul, he is a liar who lies to friends, law enforcement officers,” Singer told jurors during his closing argument.

Serio, an admitted drug trafficker, paid money to Masecchia, his fellow marijuana trafficker, “under a false belief” it would gain him protection from Bongiovanni, Singer said.

“As the evidence proves, Serio never got what he thought he paid for,” Singer said.

Masecchia, a former Buffalo Public Schools teacher who is now serving 7 years in prison, did not testify at the trial. Masecchia pleaded guilty in December 2020 to possession with intent to distribute marijuana and possession of firearms in furtherance of drug trafficking. He told law enforcement officials that he and others in the drug trade had help from Bongiovanni, according to his plea agreement. He said Bongiovanni helped him and other drug traffickers avoid arrest by providing “law enforcement-sensitive information,” including the names of potential cooperating witnesses.

Here is a breakdown of the verdicts:

Count 1: Conspiracy to defraud the United States

Verdict: Guilty

Potential prison term: Five years

Crux of charge: From 2008 until 2019, Bongiovanni used his position as a DEA special agent to shield the Ronald Serio organization from investigations, including marijuana trafficker Michael Masecchia, whom he believed to be connected to Italian organized crime. He conspired to defraud the United States by interfering with and obstructing the governmental functions of the DEA.

Count 2: Conspiracy to defraud the United States

Verdict: Not Guilty

Crux of charge: From 2005 until 2019, Bongiovanni protected Peter Gerace Jr. and his business, Pharaoh’s Gentlemen’s Club, from federal narcotics investigations and sought to dissuade other law enforcement agencies from investigating him. He conspired to defraud the United States by interfering with and obstructing the governmental functions of the DEA.

Count 3: Conspiracy to distribute controlled substances

Verdict: Guilty

Potential prison term: 5 years

Crux of charge: Beginning in 2008 and continuing to about August 2019, Bongiovanni conspired with Michael Masecchia and others to possess with intent to distribute, and to distribute, marijuana and cocaine. By providing information to Serio and Masecchia, Bongiovanni became part of their drug conspiracy.

Count 4: Public official accepting a bribe

Verdict: Not Guilty

Crux of charge: From 2008 until 2017, Bongiovanni was paid at least $250,000 to conceal and assist drug trafficking by people whom he believed to be associated with Italian organized crime. Prosecutors said he did this by opening and closing a DEA case file; deactivating a confidential source; issuing DEA administrative subpoenas; entering names, locations and phone numbers in the DEA’s databases; making false and misleading entries in DEA reports and forms; making false and misleading statements to other members of law enforcement; providing information to a drug trafficking organization about federal investigations, law enforcement methods and techniques, and the identity of people cooperating and potentially cooperating with law enforcement.

Count 5: Conspiracy to distribute controlled substances

Verdict: Not Guilty

Crux of charge: From 2009 until February 2019, Bongiovanni and Peter Gerace Jr. conspired to possess with intent to distribute, and to distribute, cocaine, methamphetamine, Adderall, marijuana and heroin. By shielding Gerace from investigation, Bongiovanni helped Pharaoh’s become a drug-involved premises where cocaine, marijuana and other drugs were used and distributed.

Count 6: Obstruction of justice

Verdict: Guilty

Potential prison term: 20 years

Crux of charge: Bongiovanni prepared a false DEA report on Nov. 4, 2014, that said a confidential informant who offered to infiltrate the Serio drug-trafficking organization was no longer viable and could not provide credible information to further the Serio investigation. Prosecutors accuse Bongiovanni of feigning an investigation into Serio and handling the informant in a way that shielded Serio from investigation.

Count 7: Obstruction of justice

Verdict: Guilty

Potential prison term: 20 years

Crux of charge: On Jan. 28, 2015, Bongiovanni made false statements in a DEA report as he closed the Serio investigation.

Count 8: Obstruction of justice

Verdict: Guilty

Potential prison term: 20 years

Crux of charge: Bongiovanni in a Nov. 12, 2018, internal DEA memo, said his past contact with Gerace consisted of minimal in-person or random telephonic communications based on the fact they were childhood friends. That misrepresented the true relationship between the two.

Count 9: Obstruction of justice

Verdict: Not guilty

Potential prison term: 20 years

Crux of charge: Bongiovanni submitted a Dec. 10, 2018, internal DEA memo that included a false and misleading statement: “I have and will report all contact with [the defendant Gerace] to a DEA supervisor like I have in the past.” The government discovered year after year of text messages between Gerace and Bongiovanni from 2015 to 2019, but no reports detailed the extent of those messages.

Count 10: Obstruction of justice

Verdict: Guilty

Potential prison term: 20 years

Crux of charge: Bongiovanni submitted a Jan. 28, 2019, internal DEA memo in which he falsely portrayed DEA Special Agent Anthony Casullo as the agent with the relationship with Gerace, because Casullo’s brother-in-law is friends with Gerace.

Count 11: False statements to an agency of the United States

Verdict: Guilty

Potential prison term: Eight years

Crux of charge: On March 29, 2019, Bongiovanni made a false statement to special agents of the Department of Justice by denying he initiated contact with Gerace.