In a ruling that's rattled the Drug Enforcement Administration, John Costanzo Jr., a veteran DEA agent, has been sentenced to a four-year prison stint for his role in a Miami bribery plot involving leaked agency intel, as reported by NBC Miami. Convicted on counts of bribery and honest-services wire fraud, Costanzo is part of an expanding rogue's gallery of DEA operatives who've fallen foul of the law they once swore to uphold.
According to details from the federal case obtained by ABC News, Costanzo abused specialized knowledge acquired from years snaking through the underworld of narcotics and money laundering, feeding sensitive information to defense attorneys embroiled in drug cases. Judge Paul Oetken highlighted Costanzo’s significant liability as a supervisor, having acknowledged the illicit nature of his acts.
In the courtroom, the disgraced agent made an attempt at contrition, stating, "This is my cross to bear. I will try to find a silver lining in all of this," as conveyed by ABC News. His plea for leniency, juxtaposed with prosecutor demands for a minimum seven-year sentence, highlighted the drama surrounding the case that erupted from callously traded texts and intercepted calls between Costanzo and a former DEA colleague turned private investigator, Manny Recio.
Allegations from the prosecution revealed that Recio, standing trial next month, fed bribes to Costanzo, including luxury travel perks and a hefty down payment on a Coral Gables condo. Their scheme exploited not only middlemen but also Costanzo's own father—a storied DEA agent in his own right who, prosecutors have claimed, lied to federal agents, as per reporting by NBC Miami.
In the lead-up to sentencing, Costanzo's lawyer, Marc Mukasey, put forth a portrayal of his client as a devoted son longing to be by the side of his ailing father, a former DEA stalwart, in his twilight battle with pancreatic cancer. Mukasey insisted that being absent from his hero's final days "would break John forever," a sentiment shared in defense letters vouching for Costanzo’s character. Yet, prosecutors countered with a stark narrative, the senior Costanzo's involvement in laundering bribe money depicting the depths of a corrupt legacy. Manhattan U.S. Attorney Damian Williams sent a stern warning: "Let this be a message to all public officials who are tempted to profit illegally from their service — there will be serious consequences," according to the NBC Miami report.
