BUFFALO, N.Y. — In less than 24 hours, former DEA agent Joseph Bongiovanni will climb the steps at federal court again — this time, facing 11 charges in a retrial.
The former DEA agent was convicted in April of one count of obstruction of justice and one count of lying to federal agents, but the two-month-long trial still left the jury unable to reach a verdict on the remaining 12 counts.
Those counts include the most serious ones in which Bongiovanni is accused of accepting more than $250,000 in bribes in exchange for shielding drug dealers under investigation.
But just as much as he has been found guilty so far, he’s been proven innocent. Bongiovanni was acquitted of two of those original 15 charges against him — one at the April verdict for deleting data on his DEA-issued cell phone when he retired and one just last week for bribery.
During the initial trial three months ago, over 70 witnesses took the stand, ranging from drug traffickers to exotic dancers and current and former DEA agents. But none were able to confirm that they saw Bongiovanni accept any bribes.
Starting Monday, the prosecution will once again attempt to prove otherwise, with the case now in the hands of a new jury and more of Bongiovanni’s DEA colleagues set to take the stand for a second time.