Mustafa Fteja pleaded guilty in Brooklyn federal court to obstructing justice after attempting to bribe a juror in the drug-trafficking case of former heavyweight boxer Goran Gogic. Prosecutors say Fteja offered $50,000–$100,000 for a not-guilty verdict and that recorded conversations in Albanian and English support the allegation. Under a plea agreement, Fteja faces roughly five to six years in prison and is due to be sentenced on June 23. Gogic, who has pleaded not guilty, faces separate charges tied to an alleged $1 billion cocaine-smuggling operation, including a 19.8-ton seizure in Philadelphia in 2019.
Brooklyn Man Pleads Guilty to Trying to Bribe Juror in Ex-Boxer Goran Gogic’s Drug Trial
Man admits trying to bribe juror at ex-boxer's drug trafficking trial
Mustafa Fteja pleaded guilty Thursday in Brooklyn federal court to obstructing justice for attempting to bribe a juror in the drug-trafficking case tied to former heavyweight boxer Goran Gogic.
Details of the Bribery Plot
According to court records and charging documents, Fteja — one of three men indicted in November — contacted a juror identified as “John Doe #1” by cellphone and met him twice on Staten Island over three days. Prosecutors say Fteja told the juror that associates in the Bronx would pay between $50,000 and $100,000 in exchange for returning a not-guilty verdict. Investigators recovered multiple recorded conversations in Albanian and English in which the defendants discussed the bribery scheme.
Plea Deal and Next Steps
Under a plea agreement with prosecutors, Fteja’s sentence is expected to be roughly five to six years; he is scheduled to be sentenced on June 23. He has remained free on $150,000 bail since his arrest.
Heavily armed officers stand guard as law enforcement officials present a part of the evidence from a cocaine bust on the MSC Gayane in the port of Philadelphia, during a press conference at U.S. Customs House in Philadelphia, on June 21, 2019. / Credit: Bastiaan Slabbers/NurPhoto via Getty Images(Bastiaan Slabbers/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Background on the Underlying Drug Case
Goran Gogic, a Montenegrin national and former professional boxer, was arrested in 2022 at Miami International Airport while attempting to board a flight. He has pleaded not guilty to charges of violating and conspiring to violate the Maritime Drug Law Enforcement Act. If convicted on those counts, he faces a statutory range of 10 years to life in prison.
The charges stem from three major cocaine seizures, most notably a 19.8-ton haul taken from a cargo ship docked at Philadelphia’s Packer Avenue Marine Terminal in 2019. Prosecutors allege Gogic and others used meticulous planning to move more than $1 billion worth of cocaine from Colombia to Europe through U.S. ports aboard commercial cargo vessels, coordinating with crew members, Colombian traffickers and European dockworkers.
Personal Background
Online boxing records list Gogic as a 6-foot-5, 250-pound fighter who competed from 2001 to 2012 and compiled a 21-4 record. The bribery charge against Fteja is separate from Gogic’s criminal trial but is alleged to be part of a plot to corrupt that trial.
What’s next: Fteja’s sentencing is set for June 23. The underlying trial for Gogic has not yet taken place.
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