Buffalo, NY. — A retired Drug Enforcement Administration special agent who betrayed his badge by protecting organized crime figures and drug traffickers was sentenced to 60 months in federal prison, U.S. Attorney Michael DiGiacomo announced.
Joseph Bongiovanni, 61, of Tonawanda, New York, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Lawrence J. Vilardo after being convicted of conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance, four counts of obstruction of justice, and making false statements to law enforcement.
According to prosecutors, Bongiovanni served as a DEA special agent from 1998 until his retirement in 2019, spending most of his career assigned to the Buffalo Resident Office. Over more than a decade, he used his position to protect friends, associates, and individuals he believed were connected to Italian Organized Crime in Buffalo.
Bongiovanni provided sensitive law enforcement information to drug traffickers, including details about active investigations, confidential informants, and investigative techniques. Prosecutors said he specifically aided Michael Masecchia, a former Buffalo schoolteacher with organized crime ties, and others involved in distributing large quantities of marijuana, cocaine, and fentanyl pills.
As part of the scheme, Bongiovanni opened a DEA case file that he used to shield the traffickers from scrutiny, ensuring that other state, local, and federal agencies deferred investigations to him. He also entered protected individuals into law enforcement deconfliction databases to alert himself if other agencies were investigating them.
Bongiovanni was further convicted of obstructing justice by preparing false DEA memoranda and lying to investigators to conceal his relationship with Peter Gerace Jr., another individual under federal investigation for drug trafficking.
“As a member of law enforcement, this defendant was in a position of trust in the eyes of the public,” DiGiacomo said. “His criminal actions eroded that public trust and tarnished the reputation of the men and women in law enforcement who uphold justice with honesty and integrity every day.”
Federal officials emphasized that the sentence underscores accountability within law enforcement. “No one is above the law,” said FBI Buffalo Special Agent-in-Charge Philip Tejera. “Bongiovanni’s actions do not represent the vast majority of officers who serve with integrity.”
Michael Masecchia was previously sentenced to seven years in prison. Peter Gerace Jr. was convicted by a federal jury and is awaiting sentencing.
The investigation was led by Homeland Security Investigations, the FBI, and the Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General, with assistance from multiple federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies.
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