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A knuckleheaded trio tried to bribe a federal juror $100,000 to find former heavyweight boxer Goran Gogic not guilty in his upcoming cocaine trafficking trial, prosecutors said.
The alleged crooks – Mustaga Fteja, Valmir Krasniqi and Afrim Kupa – will appear in Brooklyn federal court Monday afternoon after their arrests on an obstruction of justice charge, officials said.
A stunning court complaint details a fast-breaking FBI investigation that unfolded starting Nov. 13, when Fteja called the unnamed juror and offered money to render an acquittal.
The feds tapped the trio’s phones and recorded a conversation, in English and Albanian, between them inside a Staten Island home, according to the complaint.
“How they gonna pay [John Doe #1], who’s gonna, give the money?” Fteja said, the complaint states.
“Cash,” Kupa responded.
“You’re gonna give it to me? How much?” Fteja said.
“One, one hundred thousand,” Kupa confirmed.
Gogic had been scheduled to stand trial on accusations he trafficked 22 tons of cocaine worth more than $1 billion from Colombia to Europe through the US.
A judge dismissed the jury in the trial Monday morning after the bribery accusations arose, officials said.
The trial will reconvene in 30 days with a new, anonymous jury, the officials said.
English (US)