The trial date for two defendants in a high-profile bribery, sex- and drug-trafficking case has been pushed back to Oct. 23, the second postponement in just over a month.
During a court proceeding Friday, U.S. District Judge Lawrence Vilardo characterized the new trial start date as “cast in stone.”
The 10-week delay follows a decision last week by U.S. District Judge John L. Sinatra Jr. to remove himself from the case, prompting it to be reassigned to Vilardo.
Prosecutors have charged Joseph Bongiovanni, a former Drug Enforcement Administration agent, of accepting $250,000 in bribes from drug dealers and providing them with information about investigations and cooperating sources. A co-defendant, Peter Gerace Jr., who will stand trial with Bongiovanni, is charged with bribing Bongiovanni and conspiring to engage in drug trafficking and human trafficking at Gerace’s Pharaoh’s Gentlemen’s Club in Cheektowaga.
In May, Sinatra postponed a June trial start day to Aug. 14, when defense attorney James P. Harrington, who had represented Bongiovanni since April 2020, was allowed to withdraw from the case for medical reasons. Sinatra appointed Robert Singer and Parker MacKay as replacements.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph M. Tripi supported Vilardo’s initial suggestion to start the trial on Sept. 25, saying “this trial has to go.”
But Steven M. Cohen, the lawyer for Gerace, sought a longer delay, saying he needs to find a lawyer to replace Eric Soehnlein, who recently asked the court’s permission to withdraw from the Gerace defense team, and also because of Cohen’s planned vacation in early October.
“I’ve got to get another lawyer,” Cohen told the judge. “I can’t try this case myself.”
Singer told Vilardo that when Sinatra appointed Mackay and him to represent Bongiovanni, they asked for a January trial to give them time to review the case and prepare a defense. On Friday, given the options the judge was considering, they told Vilardo they preferred a November trial.
The new Oct. 23 trial date accommodates Cohen’s vacation, but Vilardo indicated there would be no more postponements.
“Whatever you have to do to get back here by the 23rd, you’re going to get back here by the 23rd,” the judge told Cohen.
There are seven pending motions that Vilardo inherited, including one to dismiss the indictment, a request for a gag order, Soehnlein’s withdrawal request and reconsideration of evidence suppression rulings.
Vilardo set July deadlines for lawyers to reply to the government’s positions on the various motions.
