BUFFALO, N.Y. — A juror in the recent federal trial of former Drug Enforcement Administration agent Joseph Bongiovanni wants to talk to federal prosecutors.
But few people besides U.S. District Judge Lawrence J. Vilardo know any specifics about the unusual request.
Vilardo on Monday said there were “compelling state interests” in allowing prosecutors to interview the juror. The interview will be held at an unspecified date in the judge’s chambers and not in open court.
“I want to proceed carefully and one step at a time,” Vilardo said.
A comment made by Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph M. Tripi appeared to suggest that the juror reached out to prosecutors. After Vilardo directed his court clerk to reach out to the juror, Tripi asked that the court let the juror know that “we weren’t ignoring him.”
Bongiovanni earlier this month was convicted of obstruction of justice and lying to federal agents. Jurors acquitted 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 accepted $250,000 in bribes.
Attorney Parker MacKay, who is representing Bongiovanni, opposed the motion to allow the interview. After Vilardo ruled, MacKay said he was concerned that the government made the motion “ex parte,” or outside the presence of opposing counsel.
“We wanted to ensure that it wasn’t, ‘What was your vote on the verdict?’ which would be improper,” MacKay said.
Barbara Burns, a spokesperson for U.S. Attorney Trini Ross, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
During the case, The Buffalo News reported that there was a lack of harmony among members of the jury, as indicated by a note one juror wrote to the judge.
“From the very first vote taken in this room, I was told I have no common sense and have been called stupid on multiple occasions,” the juror wrote. “The difference in our opinions has not been something that several people are willing to discuss in a reasonable and mature way.”
It is unclear whether the juror who wrote that note during the trial is the one who contacted prosecutors.
Prosecutors in recent days also filed papers seeking a trial date of June 18 to retry Bongiovanni. Vilardo has not ruled on that request.
Earlier in the day, a criminal complaint was unsealed in a different federal courtroom involving a witness in the related trial of Pharaohs Gentleman’s Club owner Peter Gerace. Phlycia Hunt was arrested for theft of government funds.
The complaint references Gerace and states that Hunt “is a witness in an ongoing federal investigation regarding public corruption, bribery, drug trafficking, sex trafficking, and witness tampering.”
