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February 23, 2024
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Aruba’s ONLY English newspaper
A r u b a ’ s O N L Y E n g l i s h n e w s p a p e r
'Little dark secret': DEA agent on trial accused of taking $250K in

bribes from Mafia

the take from the Buffalo doesn’t get it right,” Assist-
Mafia, offering an "umbrella ant U.S. Attorney Joseph
of protection" that derailed Tripi told jurors. “He was
investigations of his child- able to manipulate eve-
hood friends, covered for ryone because, in law en-
a sex-trafficking strip club forcement, there’s a cer-
and even helped a con- tain amount of trust that’s
nected high school English inherent. He did it under the
teacher keep his marijua- watch of supervisors who
na-growing side hustle. under-supervised him.”
In a federal trial that began The 59-year-old Bongiovan-
this month, prosecutors ni has denied the counts
portrayed Bongiovanni as of bribery, conspiracy and
a greedy racist who pock- obstruction of justice that
eted more than $250,000 could land him behind bars
in cash-stuffed envelopes for life, charges his attorney
over a decade and threw says are built on lies “so fan-
his colleagues off by open- ciful they don’t just strain
ing bogus case files and credibility, they rip it apart.”
encouraging them to The trial is the latest gut
spend less time investigat- punch to the 4,100-agent
ing Italians and more time DEA, which has seen at
on Blacks and Hispanics, least 16 agents brought up
This June 13, 2016, file photo shows Drug Enforcement Administration agents in Florida. "n----- and s----" he was al- on federal charges since
Associated Press leged to have called them. 2015, a parade of miscon-
When authorities finally duct that has revealed
By JIM MUSTIAN and JOSH- way prosecutors tell it, Behind the veneer of a vet- unmasked him in 2019, he gaping holes in the agen-
UA GOODMAN Joseph Bongiovanni went eran U.S. Drug Enforcement hastily retired and wiped his cy’s supervision.
Associated Press to work for years with a "lit- Administration agent, they cellphone clean.
BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — The tle dark secret." alleged, was a turncoat on “Sometimes the DEA Continued on next page