Man confesses to scheming to corrupt juror in boxer’s drug case
NEW YORK — A man accused of attempting to bribe a juror with as much as $100,000 during the drug trafficking trial of a former heavyweight boxer admitted guilt on Thursday to obstructing justice.
Mustafa Fteja submitted his plea in Brooklyn federal court, where a plea deal with the government stipulated that he would serve approximately five to six years in prison at his sentencing on June 23.
He was one of three individuals indicted in November for their involvement in the scheme to compromise the trial of boxer Goran Gogic.
The trial for Gogic, which was initially scheduled to commence in November, has yet to occur. He has entered a not guilty plea to charges of violating and conspiring to violate the Maritime Drug Law Enforcement Act. If found guilty, he could face a prison term ranging from 10 years to life.
Fteja has been released on $150,000 bail since his arrest. Court documents indicate that Fteja was already acquainted with a juror referred to in the filings as “John Doe #1” when he contacted him multiple times via cellphone to arrange a meeting on Staten Island.
During two meetings over a three-day period, Fteja informed the juror that associates in the Bronx were prepared to offer him between $50,000 and $100,000 in exchange for a not guilty verdict, as detailed in the charging documents.
Authorities reported that evidence included numerous recorded discussions among the defendants as they planned the bribery scheme, conversing in both Albanian and English.
