Prosecutors know Louis Selva will be torn when he testifies in federal court against Joseph Bongiovanni, his best friend growing up as a child and the best man at his wedding.
But at some point over the next several weeks, Selva is expected to share with jurors insider information that only he and a few other people know about how and why – and for how much money – Bongiovanni used his job as a DEA agent to shield a drug-trafficking organization from investigation and alert it to informants, Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Tripi said.
In all, Bongiovanni, 59, faces 15 charges, many related to his dealings with Peter Gerace Jr., the owner of Pharaoh’s Gentlemen’s Club in Cheektowaga, and others involving the drug-trafficking organization that included people he had been friends with for decades. Selva will be among the key witnesses related to the bribery count involving the drug-trafficking organization, Tripi said in his opening statement Thursday.
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It was Selva who pitched Bongiovanni on a formal arrangement with the drug-trafficking group that put the then-DEA agent on a retainer for $2,000 a month, eventually growing to $4,000 monthly, for upward of $250,000 over most of a decade, the prosecutor said. Selva was aware of Bongiovanni’s financial pressures and occasional cocaine use, so he felt safe broaching the idea, according to Tripi.
Another key witness will be Ronald Serio, who has never met Bongiovanni in person, but who, according to prosecutors, provided the cash for Bongiovanni’s monthly retainer to provide cover to the drug-trafficking organization, Tripi said.
The two co-conspirators have now become cooperating government witnesses.
“Two of them you’ll hear from will be Lou Selva and Ron Serio,†Tripi told the jury. “These are individuals with the inside and intimate knowledge of how this conspiracy worked. And their testimony will give you an inside look at how a drug-trafficking organization in Buffalo, N.Y., recruited and bribed an active DEA agent and caused him to become a double agent in violation of his sworn oath and duties.â€
As described by the prosecution, the two were joined by another key figure in the drug-trafficking organization – Michael Masecchia – in carrying out the bribery scheme.
Tripi described their roles:
Selva helped grow the marijuana, transported the product and even set up a grow operation in his home. But his most important role was convincing Bongiovanni to take bribes to protect the organization.
“Selva in particular, the defendant’s childhood best lifelong friend, I anticipate will be particularly torn when he testifies, struggling,†Tripi said.
Masecchia, another childhood friend of Bongiovanni’s who went to high school and college with him, was “the muscle and the money man†responsible for making face-to-face cash payments to Bongiovanni.
“Those are the only two who knew where they would meet up for the money drops,†Tripi said.
Serio was the financier behind the drug organization, and he also found connections, narcotics suppliers in New York City, California, Vancouver and locally.
“His wealth grew and grew over time to the point he was Masecchia’s main customer, and it evolved into a partnership where Serio was the money man, he was the financier of the bribe payments,†Tripi said.
‘Money train’
Bongiovanni would meet Selva once every month or so, with the DEA agent giving Selva information to deliver to the drug organization, Tripi said.
Separately, Serio would provide money to Masecchia, who would meet and provide that cash bribe to Bongiovanni, the prosecutor said.
Tripi described it as an “information chain†from Bongiovanni to Selva, and then to Masecchia and Serio.
Bongiovanni exposed law enforcement strategies and tactics. He exposed targets of investigation to allow the criminal organization to thrive and flourish, Tripi said. And he told them who informants were.
The “money train,†the cash for bribes, went from Serio to Masecchia and then to Bongiovanni.
“Mike Masecchia, in the circles in which Bongiovanni grew up in, in his North Buffalo predominantly Italian neighborhood, was a high-profile guy due to his connections,†Tripi said. “So to be less conspicuous, Bongiovanni would meet monthly with his best friend, go for a drink, go grab a bite to eat, and no one would be suspicious of those meetings. And that’s how it continued over time.â€
Masecchia, who had been a popular and admired schoolteacher during the day, has since been sentenced to prison on felony drug charges. He admitted getting law enforcement sensitive information from Bongiovanni. Prosecutors have not given any indication he will testify against Bongiovanni.
Serio pleaded guilty in 2020 to felony drug and weapons charges. His original November 2020 sentencing date has been postponed eight times, and he is now scheduled to be sentenced in April.
Selva has reached an agreement with prosecutors, but his legal fate remains undecided.
As the investigation into Bongiovanni deepened – “after piece after piece was put together†– and the evidence exposed Serio and Selva, the two had no more ability to hide the scheme, and they decided to provide the insider information, Tripi said.
By 2001, Bongiovanni had been a DEA agent for about three years when he returned to Buffalo after a stint with the agency in Florida.
He soon separated from his wife and went through a costly divorce, Tripi said.
Now single, Bongiovanni “started going out to bars and hanging out with his old best friend, Lou Selva, who was a bartender.â€
They would go out to bars, and eventually Selva told Bongiovanni that he was using cocaine, something they had done together in the past, before Bongiovanni was a federal agent.
“Eventually, hitting the bar scene together, going out, the defendant started to use cocaine on occasion, as well,†Tripi said.
A formal arrangement
By 2008, Selva had gone through a divorce himself and was dealing with financial hardships, something he would talk to Bongiovanni about.
Selva knew that Masecchia was making money on his marijuana grows.
“So, in 2008, Selva wants in to these marijuana grows, and he has a meeting with Masecchia,†Tripi said. “And in that meeting ... Selva didn’t really bring much to the table. But he brought one critical piece to the table.â€
Even though Bongiovanni was already looking out for Masecchia, making Selva part of the organization added another layer of reassurance and protection that the organization would be protected by Bongiovanni, Tripi said.
“So, Selva hatches a deal with Masecchia to join the organization,†Tripi said.
At the time, the organization’s top seller of marijuana was Serio. Selva joined the organization for about a 14% or 15% share of the crop, about $14,000 per harvest.
“His job was to help with the grow, transport the marijuana, but also make sure Bongiovanni was protecting them.â€
Selva capitalized on his ability to discuss the protection with Bongiovanni because they had done cocaine together, Tripi said.
“Selva had done drugs with a sworn DEA agent,†Tripi said. “So he knew he could at least broach the topic of protection formalizing an agreement.â€
Selva moved toward a formal agreement for protection.
He met with Bongiovanni, but the DEA agent was resistant, at first.
“He said things like, ‘That could impact my job.’ He said those things to Selva,†Tripi said.
But he told Selva he would have his back.
Selva relayed the conversation to Masecchia, but Masecchia wanted more assurance.
Masecchia spoke to Serio, who also wanted more assurance.
“So, Selva said, ‘I think if you come with a monetary offer, I think he’ll do it.’â€
Selva knew about Bongiovanni’s financial pressures since the divorce.
“And so they agreed,†Tripi said. “They agreed to offer $2,000 a month, about $24,000 a year, on retainer.â€
Selva approached Bongiovanni, and after some haggling, Bongiovanni agreed, Tripi said.
“And that’s when they initiated the scheme where Selva would meet with Bongiovanni once a month for information exchanges, and then, separately, Masecchia would make cash drops taking cash paid by Ron Serio and delivering it to Bongiovanni at locations only the two of them know,†Tripi said.
Eventually, the drug operation expanded beyond growing marijuana in Southern Tier fields and grow houses.
The operation involved thousands of pounds over time, and it expanded to include cocaine and, by the end, fentanyl pills that were mixed in with the large shipments of marijuana, Tripi said.
“They’re taking trips to New York City, they’re bringing trucks in, and they wanted more protection, more assurance from Bongiovanni,†Tripi said. “They wanted him to be able to know if there were other law enforcement agencies, not just the DEA, looking into them. And that cost more money. The price went up.â€
They began paying him $4,000 a month, Tripi said.
In all, the cash payments added up to about a quarter of a million dollars from roughly 2009 until Serio’s arrest in 2017, according to prosecutors.
Defense lawyer Parker MacKay, who, with Robert Singer, represents the ex-DEA agent, told jurors Bongiovanni took no bribes.
MacKay also sought to cast doubt on Selva’s expected testimony.
MacKay described Selva as “sort of the scrub from the old neighborhood, the failure-to-launch kid who never got things together.â€
Bongiovanni helped him get a job as a jail deputy, MacKay said.
“You’ll learn a lot about Selva that will make you question everything he says,†MacKay told jurors.
Patrick Lakamp can be reached at plakamp@buffnews.com
