Jury convicts former DEA agent of obstruction but fails to reach verdict on Buffalo bribery charges

By CAROLYN THOMPSON and JIM MUSTIAN
Associated Press

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — 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.