Man admits trying to bribe juror at ex-boxer's drug trafficking trial
#Juror Bribery #Drug Trafficking #Former Boxer #Federal Court #Cocaine Smuggling #Obstruction of Justice #Plea Agreement
📌 Key Takeaways
- Mustafa Fteja pleaded guilty to obstructing justice for attempting to bribe a juror
- Fteja faces 5-6 years in prison when sentenced on June 23
- The bribery plot involved offering $50,000-$100,000 for a not guilty verdict
- Gogic is accused of trafficking $1 billion worth of cocaine
- Gogic faces 10 years to life in prison if convicted
📖 Full Retelling
Mustafa Fteja pleaded guilty Thursday in Brooklyn federal court to obstructing justice for attempting to bribe a juror with $50,000-$100,000 to return a not guilty verdict in the drug trafficking trial of former heavyweight boxer Goran Gogic. The plea agreement calls for Fteja to serve roughly five to six years in prison when he is sentenced on June 23. Fteja was one of three men charged in November in the plot to corrupt the trial, which has not yet taken place as Gogic maintains his plea of not guilty to charges of violating and conspiring to violate the Maritime Drug Law Enforcement Act. If convicted, Gogic faces a sentence of 10 years to life in prison. Fteja has remained free on $150,000 bail since his arrest. Court documents reveal that Fteja contacted a juror identified as 'John Doe #1' multiple times, arranging two meetings over three days on Staten Island where he offered the substantial bribe. Evidence against the defendants includes several recorded conversations of the bribery plot as they spoke in Albanian and English.
🏷️ Themes
Corruption, Organized Crime, Justice System
📚 Related People & Topics
Illegal drug trade
Global black market
The illegal drug trade, drug trafficking, or narcotrafficking, is a global black market dedicated to the cultivation, manufacture, distribution, and sale of prohibited drugs. Most jurisdictions prohibit trade, except under license, of many types of drugs through the use of drug prohibition laws. The...
Entity Intersection Graph
Connections for Illegal drug trade:
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Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes
6 shared
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Jalisco New Generation Cartel
6 shared
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Organized crime
3 shared
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Drug cartel
2 shared
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Jeffrey Epstein
2 shared
Original Source
Crime Man admits trying to bribe juror at trial of ex-heavyweight boxer accused of trafficking $1 billion worth of cocaine February 20, 2026 / 7:10 AM EST / CBS/AP Add CBS News on Google A man charged with trying to bribe a juror with up to $100,000 at the drug trafficking trial of a former heavyweight boxer pleaded guilty Thursday to obstructing justice. Mustafa Fteja entered the plea in Brooklyn federal court, where a plea agreement with the government called for him to serve roughly five to six years in prison when he is sentenced on June 23. He was among three men charged in November in the plot to corrupt the trial of boxer Goran Gogic . Gogic's trial, originally set to begin in November, has not yet taken place. He has pleaded not guilty to violating and conspiring to violate the Maritime Drug Law Enforcement Act. If convicted, he faces a sentence of 10 years to life in prison. Fteja has remained free on $150,000 bail since his arrest. According to court records, Fteja already knew a juror described in court papers as "John Doe #1" when he called him multiple times on his cellphone to get him to meet him on Staten Island. Over the span of two meetings over three days, Fteja told the juror that associates in the Bronx were willing to pay him between $50,000 and $100,000 to return a not guilty verdict, according to charging documents. Investigators said evidence included several recorded conversations of the defendants planning the bribery plot as they spoke in Albanian and English. Gogic, who is from Montenegro, was arrested in 2022 while trying to board a flight at Miami International Airport. The charges stem from the three seizures of cocaine, most notably 19.8 tons from a cargo ship while it was docked at Philadelphia's Packer Avenue Marine Terminal in 2019. Prosecutors allege that Gogic and others used "meticulous planning" to transport more than $1 billion worth of cocaine to Europe from Colombia through U.S. ports, using commercial cargo ships. Gogic is ...
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