Buffalo’s Joseph Bongiovanni

Ex-DEA agent, strip club owner should be tried together, judge says
May 5, 2023



Retired Drug Enforcement Administration agent Joseph Bongiovanni drives a vintage car he restored. Bongiovanni was arrested in 2019 on felony charges that accuse him of accepting $250,000 in bribes and using his position in the DEA to help Buffalo drug dealers, including some connected to organized crime, avoid arrest. His attorney says the feds have no evidence that Bongiovanni took bribes and that the classic car is Bongiovanni's "only uniquely prized possession."

A former federal agent accused of protecting drug dealers with ties to the local mob fears he can't get a fair trial if he has to stand trial together with a strip club owner facing a sex-trafficking count. And the strip club owner worries he can't get a fair trial if jurors hear about the former agent's alleged ties to Italian organized crime.

The defense teams for Joseph Bongiovanni, the retired Drug Enforcement Administration agent and Peter Gerace Jr., the owner of Pharaoh’s Gentlemen’s Club in Cheektowaga, each sought separate trials. But U.S. District Judge John L. Sinatra Jr. declined to sever the case, so the two men are scheduled to be tried together next month in U.S. District Court in Buffalo. The prosecution anticipates its case will take six to eight weeks and involve 100 witnesses or more.

https://buffalonews.com/news/local/...2592222-e9ed-11ed-aec6-e7ad940a8f3e.html

A few more quotes from the article

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Peter Gerace’s attorney:


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Snip…

with this trial we might get more intel on the complex and fluid “IOC” of W. NY/S. ON.

Yes but his lawyer is already claiming 'anti-Italian bias' they often say that in Buffalo.

Fed Court Docs: Reputed Buffalo Mob Boss’s Nephew Talks Of Own Mafia Status, Fmr. DEA Agent Alleged Dirty By Magaddino Drug Dealer

https://gangsterreport.com/fed-cour...-alleged-dirty-by-magaddino-drug-dealer/

Feds arrest woman expected to testify against strip club owner in upcoming trial
Dan Herbeck
May 6, 2023



For the rest of the article see: https://buffalonews.com/news/local/...dd43304-eb89-11ed-8a5f-4ff5d502360a.html

https://buffalonews.com/news/local/...urce=twitter&utm_campaign=user-share

Appointment of new Bongiovanni defense lawyers prompts delay of high-profile trial
Patrick Lakamp May 17, 2023 Updated May 18, 2023 1

Judge OKs saying 'Italian organized crime' at Pharaoh's trial but puts limit on 'Mafia'

https://buffalonews.com/news/local/...082a47e-7a76-11ee-9598-37b600510514.html

Was there an Eli Bongiovanni in Buffalo back around 1970s that had a big job at Gioia Macaroni?

They distributed 1,000 kilograms of marijuana and cocaine, not a small operation.

Bizarre incident the suicide of the judge.

Judge Michalski has been involved in controversy in recent years. The Buffalo News reported that the feds were investigating his relationship with Peter G. Gerace Jr., the owner of Pharaoh’s Gentlemen’s Club, who was under investigation and has been charged with the distribution of drugs and conspiracy to commit sex trafficking. He also allegedly bribed former disgraced Drug Enforcement Administration agent Joseph Bongiovanni.

Both Gerace and Bongiovanni have been charged by the U.S. Attorney's Office with conspiracy to distribute controlled substances and defraud the United States. This story is very bizarre and we may never get the full scope of it now that Judge Michalski has killed himself


Read More: Multiple People Arrested At WNY Strip Club For Organized Crime | https://wyrk.com/ixp/11/p/pharoahs-...m_source=tsmclip&utm_medium=referral

Two men indicted on sex trafficking charges at club linked to Buffalo mob

https://www.wkbw.com/news/local-new...ng-charges-at-club-linked-to-buffalo-mob

For those interested in this case you should be able to read 70 articles in Exibit A that the government complied in their request to change venue for the trial. I think they will be free to read at this link: https://www.scribd.com/document/683445278/Prosecution-Request-for-Change-of-Venue-Gerace-Trial

Nice read thanks !

During a lengthy, three-month long RICO trial in Buffalo, New York before now ChiefUnited States District Court Judge Elizabeth A. Wolford, members of the Outlaws attendedevery day of the trial, sat prominently in the gallery, and took notes.See United States v.Willson, et al., Case No. 1:15cr142. In that case — a RICO prosecution of the KingsmenMotorcycle Club — the Outlaws were not specifically mentioned in the Indictment, but thecase involved testimony and matters that related to a support club affiliated with the Outlaws.Despite no direct link to the Outlaws, they monitored the proceedings daily, and theirpresence at trial created a stressful dynamic in the courtroom, caused issues with witnesses,and risked the orderly administration of justice.Here, unlike in the Kingsmen case, the Outlaws are specifically referenced in theIndictment, see Dkt. 89, Introduction ¶ 4, and they likely have a strong interest in supportingGerace at trial. Indeed, the National President of the Outlaws is the manager o fPharaoh’sGentlemen’s Club and was present there when federal authorities executed a search warranton December 12, 2019. Other members of the Outlaws are employed in various positions atPharaohs — a location where sex trafficking, drug trafficking, and other unlawful activities arealleged to have occurred. Further, the National President of the Outlaws submitted anaffidavit in support of Gerace’s motion to amend his conditions of release in this case. seeDkt.108-2. Therefore, the Outlaws have an even greater interest in this case than they did in theKingsmen Motorcycle Club case. As a result, there is reason to believe that the Outlaws willattend trial daily and cause great risk to the orderly administration of justice.Case 1:19-cr-00227-LJV-MJR Document 619 Filed 09/06/23 Page 14 of 23
15Moreover, the Outlaws themselves do not even need to attend the trial to accomplishtheir goals if it is held in Buffalo. As the dominant 1%er MC in the Buffalo area, the Outlawshave a network of smaller support clubs who can also cause security and logistical issuesassociated with the trial, even if the Outlaws themselves do not attend.7. Indeed, as thegovernment has explained in previous submissionsrelated to Gerace’s release or custodialstatus, see Doc. No. 110, at n. 7, law enforcement considers the Outlaws MC to be a dangerousand violent criminal organization, which has been subject to numerous prosecutionsnationally.See, e.g.,United States v. Starrett , 55 F.3d 1525, 1533 (11th Cir. 1995) (noting that“The Outlaw Motorcycle Club (the “Outlaws”) is one of the four largest national ‘one-percenter’ motorcycle clubs[,] . . . who are known to cause the most trouble, or ‘raise the most hell.’”); see also United States v. Bowman, 302 F.3d 1228, 1231 (11th Cir. 2002) (formerinternational president of the Outlaws convicted of racketeering, conspiracy to murder, andvarious other offenses);United States v. Lawson, 535 F.3d 434, 438 (6th Cir. 2008), as amended(Oct. 9, 2008) (RICOprosecution relating to Outlaws MC “Green Region”, including amurder at a strip club.)

Bongiovanni Trial Starts with Jury Selection today... Here is this morning's article from The Buffalo News


Ex-DEA agent accused of corruption and a 'little dark secret' gets his day in court
Patrick Lakamp

After waiting more than four years, Joseph Bongiovanni’s day in court is upon him.
The retired DEA agent could very well spend the next two months on trial in a federal courtroom in Buffalo on charges he accepted at least $250,000 in bribes from drug dealers whom he thought were associated with Italian organized crime and shielded them from arrest, as well as provided them with information about investigations and cooperating sources.

Jury selection starts Monday.
Given that 88 court documents have been sealed, there’s plenty of evidence not yet publicly known about his case. But pretrial hearings and the public court filings offer a glimpse of what prosecutors intend to delve into as they seek to convict the first DEA special agent in Western New York charged with bribery and corruption.

Prosecutors describe one witness as a co-conspirator who is expected to testify that he participated in a conversation about marijuana shipments.
“He’s going to talk about the words he heard come out of other people’s mouths and his participation in that conversation: who the people were, what they said,” said Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicholas Cooper at a recent court proceeding.

Other testimony is expected to cover:
--Bongiovanni’s associations with drug dealers and alleged drug use.
--His finances, described by prosecutors as strained.
--What he told fellow DEA agents about his dealings with co-defendant Peter Gerace Jr., the owner of Pharaoh’s Gentlemen’s Club in Cheektowaga, who will be tried later.
-His alleged fondness for Italian organized crime members.

During the trial, prosecutors and defense attorneys will argue over which statements and evidence can be used against Bongiovanni.
The judge who will preside at the trial has already made clear what it will not become: a deep dive into the inner workings and hierarchy of organized crime in Western New York.

“This is not going to become a trial about whether Mr. Gerace’s grandfather was the head of the Italian organized crime,” U.S. District Judge Lawrence Vilardo said.

Snip…

The two bribery counts allege Bongiovanni was paid at least $250,000 to mislead others in law enforcement and provide sensitive information about investigations and help those he believed connected to Italian Organized crime.

Snip…

The two counts of conspiracy to distribute controlled substance covers his alleged involvement with Masecchia and Gerace. The first count alleges Bongiovanni conspired with Masecchia and others to distribute marijuana and cocaine. The second count alleges he conspired with Gerace and others to possess with intent to distribute and to distribute cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, Adderall and marijuana.

Snip…
Bongiovanni’s lawyers have expressed doubt over the admissibility of evidence suggesting he was aware of drug use at a party in Toronto.
They say the government intends to point to the party as an example of Bongiovanni being comfortable around drug use and associating with people who take drugs.

A person at the party who was also involved in drugs will testify, Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Tripi said at a recent hearing.

Also, a government witness who has known Bongiovanni for decades will testify to Bongiovanni’s alleged drug use as a DEA agent as well as when both were in their 20s, Tripi said. That witness used cocaine with Bongiovanni early and later in Bongiovanni’s life, and the witness and a “circle of friends later conspired and bribed him,” Tripi said

Snip…

If Bongiovanni was at a party in Toronto with people who may have been sneaking off to a bathroom to use drugs, it’s not an act of deceit or part of some conspiracy if he didn’t arrest anybody, Singer said.

Vilardo asked the defense lawyers, “Why isn’t hanging out with these folks, allegedly using drugs with these folks, and ignoring the use of drugs by other folks, why isn’t that all part of the story here?”

“If all the co-conspirators got together every Friday night, used cocaine together and hung out, that might go to telling the story about the formation of a conspiracy,” Singer replied.

That’s not what the Toronto party was, he said.
“It was a birthday party for Mr. Bongiovanni’s sister-in-law,” Singer said, adding that the witness who will testify about the party had never before met Bongiovanni.

Snip…
The trial is expected to clarify the roles, if any, of others linked to the Bongiovanni investigation. The Buffalo News reported in 2021 that Ronald Serio is one of the drug traffickers whom prosecutors sought to connect to the former federal drug agent.

Snip…
At least one DEA agent who worked with Bongiovanni is expected to testify.

When Bongiovanni learned about who his fellow agent was investigating, the agent said Bongiovanni asked him, “Do you hate Italians?”
Bongiovanni then allegedly told the agent he should instead be investigating Black people and Hispanics, using derogatory epithets for them, according to prosecutors.

Bongiovanni denies making the statement, Mackay said, adding there is no corroboration.
“Certainly, advising other agents to investigate somebody based on racial animus is a violation of duty,” said Jordan Dickson, a Department of Justice attorney.

Snip…
When agents were preparing to search Serio’s Amherst property, Anthony Gerace of Clarence showed up, briefly visited and was pulled over by Erie County deputies as he drove off with oxycodone pills in his car, according to a Homeland Security agent’s affidavit. Prosecutors called Anthony Gerace an unindicted co-conspirator in Bongiovanni’s case. He is Peter Gerace’s brother and nephew of Joseph A. Todaro, who federal officials have claimed leads the Buffalo Mafia. Todaro has denied that.

Prosecutors say Bongiovanni was protecting people whom he understood to be part of Italian organized crime.
Vilardo said Bongiovanni’s “thoughts about Italian organized crime ... and so forth can come in” at the trial.
But he said, “the focus of this is not what the government thinks, it’s not what the rumors are – it’s what’s in your client’s head.”

Snip…

Here is the link to the article:
https://buffalonews.com/news/local/...58745f2-c68f-11ee-9156-dfc8c7d057b3.html

Prosecutor: DEA agent Bongiovanni became 'a double agent' for drug traffickers in WNY
Patrick Lakamp

The following article summarizes the government's opening argument.




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SNIP....

For the whole article see: https://buffalonews.com/news/local/...bb3d.html#tracking-source=home-top-story

Dan Herbeck Interviewed by Scott Burnstein

Bribery case against former DEA agent Joseph Bongiovanni begins
By: Maki Becker

Posted at 5:52 PM, Feb 15, 2024

and last updated 1 hour ago

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — A quarter million dollars in cash bribes. Thousands of pounds of marijuana. Cocaine and prostitution at a Cheektowaga strip club.

Former Drug Enforcement Administration agent Joseph Bongiovanni is at the center of it all.

Bongiovanni is accused of taking money from old friends from his North Buffalo neighborhood with alleged connections to "Italian Organized Crime."

On Thursday, attorneys in the highly anticipated trial against Bongiovanni gave their opening statements.

The U.S. Attorney's Office is painting Bongiovanni as a "double agent" who betrayed his duties to the public by accepting more than $250,000 in bribes in exchange for providing sensitive information and steering cases away from his friends. He is charged with 15 crimes, including for accepting bribes.

Bongiovanni's attorneys countered that he never took any bribes and that the government's case against him is built on the questionable testimony of those with grudges against him and others who are hoping for leniency from the Justice Department by testifying against him.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Trippi told the 12 jurors and six alternates seated for the trial that Bongiovanni was motivated by financial problems stemming from a costly divorce and his taste for nights on the town and fancy trips, as well as his admiration for those associated with "Italian Organized Crime."

Trippi described who he called "key players" figures in the case:

Lou Selva: Bongiovanni's best friend from childhood who was his best man at his wedding and a former jail deputy at the Erie County Sheriff's Office. Trippi told jurors he was a marijuana grower and courier.

Michael Messechia: another childhood friend and a former Buffalo Schools teacher. Trippi described him as a "marijuana trafficker" and alleged he was a member of "Italian organized crime." "The muscle and money man," Trippi said of Messechia.

Ron Serio: Trippi said that Bongiovanni and Serio never met in person but were deeply connected. Serio was the financier of a marijuana trafficking operation.

Peter Gerace Jr.: Another longtime friend from Bongiovanni's childhood. He was the owner of Pharoah's Gentlemen's Club in Cheektowaga, where Trippi said Gerace provided "cocaine and women to high-end clientele." Trippi also said Gerace is the grandson of Joseph Todaro, the "reputed leader of the Buffalo Mafia," and that Bongiovanni was aware of that. Todaro has never been convicted of a crime. Also, Bongiovanni is not accused of being a member.

Before the trial began, U.S. District Court Judge Lawrence Vilardo laid out rules for the attorneys, barring the U.S. Attorney's Office from using the word "mafia" in front of the jury and reminded Trippi outside of the presence of the jury not to use that term again during the trial.
The trial is expected to last as long as eight weeks.


See: https://www.wkbw.com/news/local-new...rmer-dea-agent-joseph-bongiovanni-begins

Deep roots of friendship are intertwined in alleged scheme to bribe DEA agent
Patrick Lakamp

…snip

“Mike Masecchia, in the circles in which Bongiovanni grew up in, in his North Buffalo predominantly Italian neighborhood, was a high-profile guy due to his connections,” Tripi Said.

Snip…

For the whole article see: https://buffalonews.com/news/local/...urce=twitter&utm_campaign=user-share

This evening's story on the Bongiovanni trial by WGRZ: https://www.wgrz.com/video/news/loc.../71-f4fab3cb-671e-4784-9659-2d4c8d2a1b18

Ex-dancer testifies about drug use at Pharaoh's: 'Girls using ... customers using, employees using'
Patrick Lakamp

See: https://buffalonews.com/news/local/...593c0fc-d03f-11ee-b7e1-3f173b8c92e5.html

Thanks for the updates I'll check this out later.
Why was/is the borgata called The Arm?

Daniel “Boots” Sansanese Sr. was serving time in prison in the early 1950s. “While in prison, a close friendship was made with his cellmate, Joseph Fino. Through the years after their release, these two men became known as the ‘arm’ or ‘muscle’ for the organization.” Buffalo then was known as the Arm. This is from the Rizzo book and he credits a 1963 Currier Express article.

Rizzo, Michael F.. Gangsters and Organized Crime in Buffalo: History, Hits and Headquarters . The History Press. Kindle Edition.

Lifelong friend testifies bribing DEA agent gained drug traffickers a 'watchful eye'
Patrick Lakamp


For the whole article see: https://buffalonews.com/news/local/...a40d.html#tracking-source=home-top-story

U.S. NEWS
‘Little dark secret': DEA agent on trial accused of taking $250K in bribes from MafiaB
BY JIM MUSTIAN AND JOSHUA GOODMAN
AP NEWS

See: https://apnews.com/article/dea-corr...y-drugs-bfa546895215ba235a770b17af9e6256

Didn't know that part about dragging a pond

Informant says DEA never asked him to help collar drug trafficker living in Amherst mansion
Patrick Lakamp



For the whole article see: https://buffalonews.com/news/local/...79e8.html#tracking-source=home-top-story

Dancer became a go-between for Pharaoh's customers and drug dealer
Patrick Lakamp

See: https://buffalonews.com/news/local/...a9dad36-d719-11ee-834b-57e44ac493f6.html

Serio's mansion.

Serio made 298 cash deposits over $10,000. That 3 million would more than pay for the place-LOL.

Buffalo DEA agent claims Bongiovanni discouraged surveillance on suspected drug spot
A former agent is accused of taking bribes to protect operators of large-scale drug ring in Western New York.
Dave McKinley WGRZ
https://www.wgrz.com/article/news/c.../71-29a3db8e-6c0e-454b-a632-4076c5a0ca33

Pharaoh's witness death seen as 'mega case,' but prosecution won't seek death penalty
Patrick Lakamp

See: https://buffalonews.com/news/local/...1847596-d7df-11ee-a73c-4f49a585bbd8.html

A former performer at Pharaoh's Gentlemen's Club testified that she and club owner Peter Gerace did cocaine with the former DEA agen

On WGRZ News by Dave McKinley

Also mentions that Gerace provided women to we’ll know Buffalo restauranteur and philanthropist Russel Salvatore.

Sheriff's Office avoided using DEA database, so federal agent did not see an arrest coming
Patrick Lakamp

See: https://buffalonews.com/news/local/...3fb88a4-da91-11ee-94c7-c726229d1abc.html

Masecchia called a teacher by day and a "mafia strongman" by night.

Despite his absence, Gerace looms over ex-DEA agent's trial
Bongiovanni case inextricably linked to strip club owner

PATRICK LAKAMP

See: https://buffalonews.com/despite-his...urce=twitter&utm_campaign=user-share

Ron Serio “Greeny” testified that Masecchia was a mob member and asked him if he could become a made man to which Masacchia replied, “Just shut up and keep making money.”

Drug trafficker who owned mansion tells all about his criminal rise and how it suddenly fell apart
From the Complete coverage: The case of ex-DEA agent Joseph Bongiovanni series
Patrick Lakamp

With money pouring in from his marijuana and cocaine trafficking, Ronald Serio got a meeting in Canada with Frank J. “Butch” BiFulco, once viewed by federal authorities as a longtime leader in the local Mafia.

Ronald C. Serio is awaiting sentencing on felony drug and weapons charges stemming from a 2017 raid at his former Lebrun Road mansion in Amherst. The case against Serio is part of a federal investigation into organized crime in Buffalo. Serio pleaded guilty to the charges.

Serio, 47, testified Monday that he sought the 2014 meeting with “Butchie BiFocals," arranged by Serio's drug-trafficking partner Michael Masecchia, because he was looking for more marijuana suppliers in an attempt to control the market in Western New York.

BiFulco, who died in 2020, was not the only person who Serio identified in his testimony against former Drug Enforcement Administration agent Joseph Bongiovanni. Serio said he paid at least $250,000 in bribes to Bongiovanni between 2010 and 2017 as a way to get names of anyone informing law enforcement officials about his drug-trafficking organization. On Monday, the 13th day of testimony in Bongiovanni's bribery and corruption trial, Serio emerged as a pivotal witness naming names. Serio identified or confirmed the roles of more than two dozen people who he said helped him grow, buy, sell or transport illegal drugs.

...Snip...

Serio became the second government witness to talk about organized crime connections in the case, with Masecchia figuring in both accounts.

Earlier in the trial, Selva, who said he negotiated the bribe payments with Bongiovanni, said he once asked Masecchia, "Are you connected? Are you a made guy?”

Selva recounted that Masecchia said yes.

Serio said he asked Masecchia what it took "to be a made guy."

"He told me to shut up and keep making money," Serio said.

Serio said BiFulco was Masecchia's "godfather," enabling Masecchia to arrange the meeting.

Masecchia, who was sentenced to prison in May 2022 on felony drug charges, admitted getting law enforcement sensitive information from Bongiovanni. But Masecchia made no admission of being a member of the Mafia in his plea agreement.

After Serio's arrest in April 2017, Serio hesitated to tell law enforcement officials what he knew about local people involved in his drug-trafficking operation, partly because he didn't want to inform on his friends but also because he was scared of Masecchia.

"It got to the point I had to come clean," he said.

...Snip...

Mark Falzone, 46, of North Buffalo, who called himself Serio's friend, testified last week that he was struggling financially when he became involved in Serio's drug-trafficking organization.

"I was complaining about my house being in foreclosure and he said he could help if I helped unload packagers," Falzone said.

Falzone helped unload three shipments of marijuana for $500 a load. He unloaded at his home 100 pounds of marijuana that came in packages hidden in wood pellets. He unloaded another 100 pounds hidden in mulch delivered to Serio's warehouse at Sycamore Street and Michigan Avenue. The third shipment was unloaded at Serio's mansion, also hidden in mulch, Falzone said. He spread the mulch around Serio's yard.

Falzone said he was also once paid $1,000 to drive to and from New York City, following behind Serio's car. If a police vehicle started following Serio, Falzone was instructed to drive erratically, acting as decoy, to distract the police officer from Serio's car.

Then came Serio's arrest in April 2017.

Falzone said he met shortly afterward with Masecchia, who was surprised by the arrest.

"I talked to my guy and Ron wasn't on any radars," Falzone said Masecchia told him.

There was a reason for that. The Erie County Sheriff's Office and FBI made the arrest, without informing the DEA. So Bongiovanni knew nothing of it.

For the whole article see: https://buffalonews.com/news/local/...a4f7b18-dff4-11ee-8373-5774b2dc2f77.html

No one was looking at Bongiovanni. And then one investigator noticed Ron Serio starting to squirm
Buffalo News | Patrick Lakamp

A federal agent’s question, asked again and again, changed the course of an investigation in a way nobody saw coming with a Drug Enforcement Administration special agent ending up in handcuffs.

This question jolted the investigation: What does it mean to be connected?

Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent Curtis Ryan put that question to Ron Serio, an Amherst drug trafficker who had been caught by FBI agents and sheriff’s investigators in April 2017 with a large amount of marijuana in a duffel bag and some cocaine.

During a meeting more than a year after his arrest between Serio and federal agents and prosecutors, Ryan’s initial focus was to glean details about Serio’s distribution network, motorcycle club members at Pharaoh’s Gentlemen’s Club and Serio’s relationship with Peter Gerace Jr. and his brother Anthony Gerace.

It was only when Ryan asked about the Geraces that Serio’s demeanor changed.

“He was particularly uncomfortable when I asked him about Peter and Anthony Gerace,” Ryan testified last week in U.S. District Court, recalling Serio said the two “carried a lot of weight in the community.”

Ryan picked up on Serio’s discomfort, so he zeroed in on what it means to be connected.

“He was trying to evade answering that question,” Ryan recalled. “I continued to ask him the same question. And I was going to ask it until he answered it.”

Then came the answer that changed everything. Serio uttered a name: Joseph Bongiovanni.

The onetime DEA agent had provided him information about informants and investigations as a way to shield Serio’s drug operation, Serio said.

Not a single member of law enforcement was investigating Bongiovanni before the Serio interview on July 20, 2018.

“It never entered my mind,” Ryan said.

For the whole article see: https://buffalonews.com/news/local/...b6aa5ec-e2d3-11ee-aa16-eb8f2eb69d98.html

Gerace's ex-wife says she handed Bongiovanni envelopes full of cash at strip club
Patrick LaKamp | The Buffalo News

The ex-wife of Peter Gerace Jr. testified Tuesday that she twice gave onetime Drug Enforcement Administration agent Joseph Bongiovanni envelopes "thick" with cash at Pharaoh's Gentlemen's Club in Cheektowaga.

Katrina Nigro also said Gerace gave Bongiovanni a 50th birthday card containing $5,000 in cash.

Nigro, 41, called the birthday present "over the top."

"I never got a gift like that," she said.

"The evidence will show that those were rewards for a job well done," Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Tripi told jurors earlier in Bongiovanni's bribery and corruption trial.

...SNIP...


Tripi has said Nigro "was intimately placed in that club."

"She knows who got brought upstairs to have sex with dancers," Tripi said. "She knows how many overdoses there were. She knows Gerace's cocaine distribution and who was involved.

"And one thing that she'll also know is that this defendant would come for his envelopes of cash every so often, he would come to a side door and enter where there were no cameras, and she would provide the envelopes of cash to the defendant," Tripi told jurors earlier in the trial. "And then she'll tell you about another time when she and Peter Gerace were at the defendant's birthday party at a restaurant on Hertel Avenue, and Gerace's gift to the defendant was a card stuffed with cash."

...SNIP...

She previously told The Buffalo News she had a ringside seat to Buffalo Mafia activities during her four years as Gerace’s wife. They divorced in 2018.

The News has previously reported Nigro has served as a witness for federal law enforcement authorities investigating suspected organized crime activities involving her ex-husband and others, but Tripi on Tuesday did not focus on Italian organized crime.

Tripi asked her about the Outlaws Motorcycle Club members at Pharaoh's.

The club's members were at Pharaoh's every Wednesday, she said.

"It was like their church day," she said.

...SNIP...

For the whole article see: https://buffalonews.com/news/local/...6c94.html#tracking-source=home-top-story

[

HUNTER: Buffalo Mob trial has bent DEA agent, a judge, peeler bars and a dead stripper
Author of the article: Brad Hunter
Published Mar 19, 2024


https://torontosun.com/news/world/h...b581afd-2c3e-425f-a4a5-dbd5b41f89ea/amp/

Thanks NickleCity !

^^^
My pleasure Hollander

Here is todays 6pm newscast where Bongiovanni’s former partner at the DEA took the stand:
Former DEA agent and Bongiovanni partner takes stand WGRZ-TV Mar 20, 2024 Anthony Cazzulo testified that Joseph Bongiovanni got in the way of his investigation of key suspects Bongiovanni is accused of protecting. YouTube link to 6pm newscast:

Cash deposits seen as bribes by prosecutors called 'life raft' for accused ex-DEA agent
Patrick LaKamp

Ballooning credit card balances. Borrowing money to pay off previous loans. Bouncing a child support check.

Federal prosecutors say Joseph Bongiovanni was under financial pressure as a special agent for the Drug Enforcement Administration, piling up debt while splurging on a Cabo San Lucas destination wedding, buying a classic Buick Electra convertible and spending thousands of dollars with a new wife on clothing, furniture and jewelry.

Five weeks into Bongiovanni’s bribery and corruption trial, prosecutors say unexplained cash deposits enabled him to break even financially over a period of years they contend he received a quarter of a million dollars or more in cash bribes from a drug-trafficking organization as well payments from a Cheektowaga strip club owner.

See: https://buffalonews.com/news/local/...3c73.html#tracking-source=home-top-story

Wife testifies, Bongiovanni doesn't, before defense rests
From the Complete coverage: The case of ex-DEA agent Joseph Bongiovanni series
Patrick Lakamp

See: https://buffalonews.com/news/local/...4203f3a-ec6c-11ee-8604-6f584293b2f0.html

__________________________________

Testimony wraps up at Bongiovanni Trial
WGRZ-TV | 6pm Newscast

The trial has lasted a month and a half with 75 witnesses having taken the stand.

Great summary of the case by Patrick LaKamp at The Buffalo News: https://buffalonews.com/news/local/...01dfa40-f033-11ee-99a8-6ffdb183f45d.html