Schoolteacher Michael Masecchia, a father figure to some students and widely admired by faculty colleagues, was sentenced to seven years in prison Wednesday for the felony side of his life they did not see: trafficking more than a ton of marijuana into Buffalo and its suburbs over 20 years.
A longtime teacher who taught English at Grover Cleveland High School, Masecchia admitted running a marijuana growing facility in rural Cattaraugus County and trafficking in pot beginning around 1999.
Federal prosecutors said Michael Masecchia, 54, of Williamsville, had been involved in selling marijuana in Buffalo and its suburbs for 20 years.
Masecchia, 56, of Williamsville, was one of several local men targeted in an ongoing federal investigation into suspected organized crime activities. He told law enforcement officials that he and others in the drug trade had help from a federal agent, co-defendant Joseph Bongiovanni, according to his plea agreement. He said Bongiovanni helped him and other drug traffickers avoid arrest by providing “law enforcement-sensitive information,” including the names of potential cooperating witnesses.
The U.S. Attorney's Office agreed to a reduced sentence for Masecchia because "he acknowledged that fact publicly," Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph M. Tripi said at the sentencing hearing.
Bongiovanni, now retired from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, has denied the allegations, including that he received $250,000 in bribes from Masecchia and others to protect them.
Prosecution court papers include a copy of a 2013 email from an unidentified federal agent to Bongiovanni, stating that Masecchia is “an associate member and possibly a made member” of the Buffalo Mafia family. Masecchia made no admission of being a member of the mafia in his plea agreement.
Michael Masecchia, a longtime teacher at Grover Cleveland High School, is one of several local men targeted in an ongoing federal investigation.
Masecchia pleaded guilty in December 2020 to possession with intent to distribute marijuana and possession of firearms in furtherance of drug trafficking. His sentencing was put off last year after he was diagnosed with lymphoma and underwent chemotherapy treatment. He is currently checked every three months at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center for possible risk of recurrence.
The plea agreement between Masecchia and the U.S. Attorney's Office recommended a prison term of seven to eight years.
"I just want to say I stand here humiliated and embarrassed before my family and the court," Masecchia said. "There's no excuse for what I did."
Nineteen people – including three principals, eight teachers and four former students – wrote letters to U.S. District Judge John L. Sinatra Jr., asking for leniency.
Tripi acknowledged the letters of support on behalf of Masecchia, but added "there was another side to him – a criminal and drug dealer," that he hid from his former students and colleagues.
Former DEA agent Joseph Bongiovanni is accused of protecting drug dealers with ties to the local mob. And now, for the first time since his arrest, federal prosecutors are naming names. A new grand jury indictment against the former agent also names Michael Masecchia, a former Buffalo school teacher described in court papers as a longtime drug dealer and
If the case had gone to trial, his "criminal side" seen by drug dealers would have been publicly exposed, Tripi said.
Law enforcement officials said they conservatively estimated Masecchia trafficked at least 2,204 pounds of marijuana between 1999 and 2019.
"That's a lot of marijuana dealing over a long period of time," Tripi said.
Former students and colleagues portrayed Masecchia as a kind and dedicated teacher who took time inside and outside the classroom looking out for students.
Ezana Kahsay, who came to the U.S. as a refugee, recalled how Masecchia mentored him, even inviting him into his home for "my first Super Bowl family party, which was one of the best days of my life."
Masecchia became his English teacher and soccer coach at Grover Cleveland when "I was just a 16-year-old, without any idea of how life was supposed to look for me. He also knew the love I had for soccer and made sure I attended a powerhouse for soccer in the country, a Division 1 university, the University of Akron, by raising money for the camp, hotel and food," Kahsay said. "On top of that, he drove me there personally, without hesitating. He took me to Akron because I've never been outside Buffalo and to show me support."
After Kahsay enrolled at the university, "when fall came, we packed my stuff and he took me to Akron because my mother couldn't take off work and leave my baby sister. I could go on all day and tell you how he impacted my life, but I would run out of paper."
Kahsay finished 2018 among active Division 1 leaders for career games played, 80.
Teacher Michael Masecchia, at center in black suit, jumps in the air with students from a graduating class at Grover Cleveland High School in Buffalo on June 23, 2000. In December 2020, Masecchia pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Buffalo to felony drug trafficking and weapons charges.
So how did a teacher who mentored and helped students from disadvantaged backgrounds find himself standing before a judge facing a lengthy prison sentence?
"It is a question that Mike Masecchia asks himself on a daily basis," defense attorney Patrick J. Brown told Sinatra in court papers.
"Unfortunately, Mike, when he was much younger, began growing marijuana," Brown said in court papers. "As a young person doing this, he never fully appreciated the gravity of his conduct. He knew it was wrong, indeed, knew it was illegal, but did not understand the extent to which he was engaged in criminal activity. Over time, he thought little of the illegality of his conduct and continued to engage in this activity.
Federal prosecutors say a Buffalo teacher has a 20-year history of being involved in the growing and distribution of significant amounts of
"It's not an excuse. It's not a defense," Brown told Sinatra at the sentencing hearing. "But it's an explanation of what happened."
"With his arrest, Mike has been forced to confront the reality that he has been ignoring for so many years," Brown said in court papers. "He has gone from being a respected parent, son and educator to being a convicted felon. He has spent a lifetime earning the respect and admiration of his wife, son, daughters, mother and colleagues. Now, when he looks into their eyes, he sees the disappointment."
During a search of Masecchia's Main Street home Aug. 23, 2019, investigators from Homeland Security Investigations, the FBI, Erie County Sheriff's Office and the Niagara County Sheriff's Office seized $27,950, two rifles, five shotguns, a pistol, ammunition for the firearms, three Mason jars containing marijuana, various steroids in liquid and tablet form, hypodermic needles, THC edibles, cannabis syrup, two grams of a white powder suspected to be cocaine, Tylenol with codeine tablets, suspected hashish, a digital scale, a suspected marijuana cigarette, numerous plastic bags and small bottles containing marijuana and four cellphones.
Brown called his client an avid hunter and outdoorsman, so he collected firearms for hunting purposes and was given more by friends and relatives. He kept the guns at a hunting camp until very shortly before his arrest, when he brought them to his residence, Brown said.
"It looks like an arsenal, but these guys were hunters," Brown said.
Masecchia, however, acknowledges that while the guns were at the hunting camp, where the marijuana was grown, they were available to him to protect his marijuana crop, Brown said.
Sinatra said Masecchia brought "a heightened danger to the community" by trafficking the marijuana. But he noted the letters sent in from educators who described Masecchia as a teacher and coach who inspired his students, brought in food for students from poor families, stuck up for students who were bullied and spent extra time after school to help refugee kids with their English language skills.
"That counts for something," Sinatra said.
But by engaging in criminal conduct, the judge said, "you let the students down by giving them a mixed message."
Sinatra allowed Masecchia to surrender to federal prison officials at a later date.
Sinatra said that he hoped Masecchia, after entering prison, would be the kind of positive influence to younger inmates as he was to his students in Buffalo.
