BUFFALO, N.Y. — After 2.5 days of deliberating, jurors at the trial of Joseph Bongiovanni retired on Friday without having reached a verdict.
The former special agent in the Buffalo office of the Drug Enforcement Administration stands is accused of taking bribes from drug dealers in exchange for protecting them and their operations.
By Friday afternoon there were indications of tension between jurors after a note was sent out by the jury forewoman, which was read aloud in court by U.S. District Court Judge Lawrence Vilardo, who is presiding over the trial.
In a jury room on the eighth floor of the Robert Jackson Federal Courthouse in downtown Buffalo, the eight-woman, four-man jury has been deliberating the 15 counts against Bongiovanni since 1 p.m. Wednesday.
Prosecutors claim that for nearly 10 years Bongiovanni used his position to engage in schemes to keep the heat off certain drug dealers, who the prosecution has described as having ties to the mafia.
It is alleged that Bongiovanni took more than $250,000 from them over the course of that time.
His defense noted during the trial which lasted nearly two months and featured testimony from more than 70 witnesses, that the prosecution couldn't produce a single one that could say for certain that they witnessed their client accepting money.
However, Bongiovanni could still be convicted of the top count against him, conspiracy to defraud the U.S. Government, even if he accepted no money to engage in what he is accused of.
The note sent out by the jury forewoman read in part as follows:
"There is a general consensus among jurors that one juror is being unduly in deliberation....I don't feel like the jury can reach a unanimous decision."
The judge said from the bench the note was "confusing."
It was not clear as to whether the forewoman forgot to add an adjective following the word "unduly" to describe what she meant or, as suggested by prosecutors, that she meant to use the word "unruly" to describe the behavior of her fellow juror.
Either way, the judge sought no clarification when he brought jurors back into the courtroom, choosing instead to re-instruct them on portions of the law, specifically their duty as jurors, to listen to each other and express their thoughts but to also adhere to their own opinions.
With no court on Monday due to the total solar eclipse, the earliest jurors may now reach a verdict in this lengthy case, will be on Tuesday.