Drug Enforcement Agent Used Position to Protect Childhood Friends Who Became Drug Dealers

A double-dealing former federal agent in Buffalo, New York, was found guilty of seven charges on Thursday, including protecting his childhood friends and the Buffalo mafia while they trafficked drugs.

Joseph Bongiovanni spent at least 10 years of his career as a U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agent falsifying DEA reports and tipping off suspects with ties to organized crime, as well as his drug-dealing childhood friends to federal investigations.

"This jury determined he was a corrupt federal agent, and he violated his oath and duties to protect those that he should have been investigating and arresting," Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Tripi said at a news conference, according to KHOU.

Bongiovanni was convicted of four counts of obstruction of justice and one count each of conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to distribute controlled substances, and making false statements to law enforcement. He was acquitted of a bribery charge, in which he allegedly accepted at least $250,000, and additional fraud, conspiracy and obstruction charges.

Until his sentencing on June 9, 2025, the ex-DEA officer will wear an ankle monitor on house arrest. He faces up to 20 years in federal prison.

KHOU reported Bongiovanni's lawyer, Robert Singer, plans to appeal the conviction.