Buffalo, New York – The Joseph Bongiovanni bribery and corruption trial took an unexpected turn on Wednesday when jurors were sent home due to a sick juror. U.S. District Judge Lawrence Vilardo acknowledged that even a federal judge cannot prevent someone from falling ill.
The trial, which began on April 3 after 24 days of testimony and closing arguments, was set to enter its fifth day of deliberations. Joseph Bongiovanni, a former Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agent, faces 15 felony charges including accepting bribes, shielding drug traffickers, and lying to investigators.
Defense attorneys for Bongiovanni sought a mistrial based on a jury note that was read aloud in court last week. They argued that the note could add undue pressure on a holdout juror. However, the judge denied the motion.
Prosecutors urged the judge to replace the sick juror with one of the four remaining alternates or to continue with the 11 healthy jurors who were present. Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicholas Cooper emphasized the importance of not wasting any time.
Defense attorney Parker MacKay suggested waiting to see if the sick juror recovers enough to come to court on Thursday. Judge Vilardo agreed, although it appears unlikely given the juror’s symptoms of fever and chills. A decision on whether to replace the sick juror will be made on Thursday. If an alternate is brought in, deliberations will have to start over with the replacement.
In an unrelated illness, another juror showed signs of illness on Tuesday but reported to court on Wednesday.
The trial will resume on Thursday, pending the health status of the sick jurors.