Joseph Bongiovanni, a retired Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent, will serve 60 months in prison following his conviction of counts related to his role in aiding a local drug trafficking operation, federal prosecutors announced Wednesday.
Bongiovanni, 61, was found guilty of one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States, one count of conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance, four counts of obstruction of justice, and one count of false statement to law enforcement.
Prosecutors say he used his position within the DEA to defraud the agency, providing information that aided and protected friends and associates, some of whom are alleged to have connections to Italian organized crime in Buffalo, and some of whom were involved in the distribution of large amounts of drugs including marijuana, cocaine, and fentanyl pills.
He did so, according to prosecutors, by writing false DEA reports, misleading colleagues, stealing sensitive files, exposing confidential informants, helping cover sex trafficking crimes at a Cheektowaga-based strip club, and helping an individual keep a marijuana-growing operation going.
He is also accused of making false statements to fellow federal agents investigating him, in order to hide his relationship with Peter Gerace, Jr., who was also under investigation for drug trafficking and other crimes. Gerace was convicted by a federal jury of multiple counts, including drug trafficking, sex trafficking, witness tampering and other crimes. He still awaits sentencing.
Another of Bongiovanni’s associates, Michael Masecchia, was previously convicted and sentenced to seven years in prison.