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Juror Bribery Allegations Halt Goran Gogic Drug Trial as Three Arrested in Brooklyn

Investigators say recordings captured the scheme’s planning in English and Albanian.

Overview

  • Judge Joan Azrack dismissed the entire jury moments before opening statements, and prosecutors moved to seat an anonymous, sequestered panel with a status conference set in 30 days.
  • Federal prosecutors say Mustafa Fteja, Valmir Krasniqi and Afrim Kupa were arrested on obstruction charges after an offer of up to $100,000 in cash to secure a not-guilty verdict.
  • A criminal complaint describes calls beginning Nov. 13 and meetings in Staten Island, with FBI phone taps and recorded conversations documenting the alleged plan.
  • Goran Gogic, a former heavyweight boxer who has pleaded not guilty, is charged under maritime drug laws in a case alleging a plot to move about 20 tons of cocaine to Europe via U.S. ports.
  • The trafficking probe cites major 2019 seizures at the Ports of New York/New Jersey and Philadelphia, and Gogic remains detained at MDC Brooklyn with a court date on Dec. 17.