Jury Convicts Former DEA Agent of Obstruction but Fails to Reach Verdict on Buffalo Bribery Charges usnews.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from usnews.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
A federal jury has convicted a former U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agent of obstruction of justice and lying to federal agents. But jurors on Friday also acquitted Joseph Bongiovanni of a charge he improperly wiped his DEA cellphone. And the jury failed to reach a verdict on charges he pocketed $250,000 in bribes from the Buffalo Mafia. The mixed verdict followed a week of often-heated deliberations. The seven-week trial has cast a harsh light on the DEA's supervision of agents amid a string of corruption scandals at the agency. Prosecutors said they plan to retry the longtime agent on the corruption charges.