In a turn that feels more like a crime thriller than a routine court date, a Staten Island restaurant worker pleaded guilty on Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026, to obstructing justice after federal prosecutors said he helped try to bribe a juror in the Brooklyn federal trial of heavyweight boxer Goran Gogic. The plea, entered in Brooklyn federal court, followed an FBI probe that intercepted a series of meetings and phone calls tied to an alleged payoff plan. The revelation has frozen Gogic’s trial in place and tossed a new legal wrench into an already sprawling drug trafficking case.
According to the New York Daily News, the defendant is 54-year-old Mustafa Fteja, a naturalized U.S. citizen who lives on Staten Island and worked at Positano in Bay Ridge. Prosecutors say Fteja admitted arranging meetings with a seated juror and offering an initial $50,000, allegedly with the promise of a $100,000 total payout if the juror went along. Fteja pleaded guilty to one count of obstructing justice in Brooklyn federal court.
How prosecutors say the scheme unfolded
Prosecutors say phone records and FBI recordings show frequent contact between Fteja and co-defendant Valmir Krasniqi in mid-November 2025, including meetings on Nov. 13 and Nov. 15 and a surveillance-monitored gathering at Krasniqi’s Staten Island home on Nov. 16. Authorities allege that Afrim Kupa was also involved, and that all three men were brought to federal court on Nov. 17, 2025. Fteja has remained free on a $150,000 bond, while prosecutors say Krasniqi and Kupa have been held without bond at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn.
As reported by the New York Daily News, U.S. District Judge Joan Azrack dismissed the jury and halted Gogic’s trial after the bribery allegations surfaced. Prosecutors have asked the judge to disqualify Gogic’s attorney, Joseph Corozzo Jr., a move that could stretch the delay and force a shake-up of the defense team. Gogic still faces an international drug trafficking indictment that prosecutors say involves more than 20 tons of cocaine.
Legal fallout and what is next
The obstruction plea puts a clear criminal admission on the record but does not settle the underlying trafficking case, which prosecutors say they intend to keep pursuing. If the court grants the request to disqualify defense counsel or uncovers additional misconduct, the government could seek new proceedings or move to reconstitute a jury, extending the already dense pretrial battles. Fteja now awaits sentencing under federal obstruction laws, and any cooperation he provides could factor into how related cases unfold.
Why this matters locally
The episode has thrown a spotlight on jury safety and how vulnerable high-stakes trials can be to outside pressure, especially in cases that involve alleged international smuggling and organized crime ties. The fact that the alleged players are linked to neighborhoods in Brooklyn and Staten Island has drawn close attention from local residents and courthouse regulars, many of whom are watching to see whether this becomes a one-off scandal or a warning sign. For the moment, the practical effect is procedural: a stalled trial, pending rulings on the defense lawyer’s status, and an ongoing investigation.
Court filings in the Eastern District of New York will chart the next steps, including any decisions on disqualification and a revised trial calendar. Prosecutors and defense attorneys are due back in court to argue those issues while the core trafficking charges against Gogic continue to hang over the case.
