A Brooklyn federal judge abruptly dismissed the jury set to hear a former heavyweight boxer’s $1 billion cocaine-trafficking case, after three men were arrested in what prosecutors described as a rapidly unfolding bribery scheme aimed at influencing the verdict.
FBI Busts Alleged Attempt to Fix Trial
U.S. District Judge Joan M. Azrack halted the trial of Goran Gogic on Monday, just hours after federal agents took Mustafa Fteja, Valmir Krasniqi, and Afrim Kupa into custody. A warrant for their arrests had been issued the night before, signaling an investigation moving at breakneck speed.
The three men were set to appear in Brooklyn federal court Monday afternoon. Prosecutors said a new jury will be selected within 30 days, and this time the panel will be anonymous.
How the Alleged Bribery Plot Unfolded
“Individuals From the Bronx Will Pay You”
According to the federal complaint, trouble surfaced when an unnamed juror—selected earlier this month by U.S. Magistrate Judge Clay H. Kaminsky—received a phone call Thursday from Fteja, who allegedly asked for a “favor.”
Investigators say Fteja and Krasniqi met the juror repeatedly, assuring him that people “from the Bronx” would pay handsomely for a not-guilty verdict. The bribe, according to the complaint, ranged from $50,000 to $100,000.
With the FBI monitoring and recording, the pair allegedly met Sunday with Kupa at Krasniqi’s Staten Island home to finalize the payment plan.
“He’s concerned with those two things—the money and how they found his name,” Fteja reportedly told Kupa during the recorded conversation.
