NEW YORK (AP) — In a significant blow to the integrity of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), two longtime supervisors were found guilty on Wednesday of leaking confidential information to defense attorneys as part of a bribery conspiracy. The conviction sheds light on the DEA’s mishandling of government secrets, jeopardizing high-profile cases and the safety of overseas drug informants.
The jury in Manhattan convicted John Costanzo Jr. and Manny Recio of bribery and wire fraud after a two-week trial that uncovered the extent of the conspiracy. The judge even closed the courtroom during one sensitive breach to avoid potential diplomatic repercussions.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Emily Deininger, in her closing argument, described the case as a tale of “greed and corruption.” She emphasized that the actions of Costanzo and Recio were unequivocally wrong and that they were fully aware of it.
This conviction adds to the growing list of DEA agents who have faced federal charges in recent years, including money laundering for Colombian cartels. Another DEA agent is set to stand trial in January for allegedly accepting $250,000 in bribes to protect the Mafia in Buffalo, New York.
The case primarily relied on text messages and wiretapped phone calls between Costanzo and Recio. Even after Recio retired from the DEA in 2018, he continued his association with Costanzo as a private investigator for defense lawyers in Miami. Recio would ask Costanzo to access confidential DEA databases to provide updates on federal investigations that would interest his new employers. They also discussed the timing of high-profile arrests and the planned charges against businessman Alex Saab, a key target linked to Venezuela’s president, Nicolas Maduro.
In exchange for these favors, Recio secretly channeled $73,000 in purchases to Costanzo, including plane tickets and a down payment on a condo in Florida. The scheme involved middlemen, including Costanzo’s father, a retired DEA agent who allegedly lied to the FBI. The payments were disguised using sham invoices from a company listed at a UPS store, while hundreds of messages and calls to a burner phone were deleted.
Prosecutor Deininger accused Costanzo and Recio of repeatedly concealing and lying to protect their financial interests, even at the expense of people’s lives and ongoing investigations.
During the trial, Costanzo and Recio did not testify but maintained their innocence. Their defense lawyers argued that the prosecution failed to establish a direct connection between the payments and the leaks, suggesting that the investigation was speculative and poorly executed.
The defense also questioned the credibility of key witness Jorge Hernández, a career criminal who implicated Recio and cooperated with the FBI by wearing a wire. Hernández claimed he had been blacklisted as an informant by the DEA and faced imminent execution if he returned to Colombia.
Upon hearing the guilty verdict on four criminal counts each, Recio and Costanzo remained composed. The jury forewoman, speaking anonymously, acknowledged the difficulty of the case, highlighting the public’s expectation of a higher standard of behavior from public officials.
The trial also brought attention to prominent figures, such as Miami defense lawyers Luis Guerra and David Macey, who were repeatedly mentioned but not charged. These attorneys were known to seek advance notice of federal arrests as they pursued wealthy clients and cooperation agreements with the government. The prosecution labeled them as “crooked attorneys” who paid handsomely for DEA secrets, but they did not provide an explanation for their lack of indictment.
The trial’s revelations have exposed the darker side of the drug defense bar, raising questions about the accountability of attorneys involved. Bonnie Klapper, a former federal prosecutor who now defends accused money launderers and drug traffickers, expressed shock at the attorneys’ non-indictment, considering the evidence presented during the trial.
The DEA declined to comment on the verdict, leaving the agency to address the systemic issues and potential reforms highlighted by this case.
