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Staten Island men admit juror bribery attempt in boxer's $1B cocaine trafficking trial
By
Charles Lane
Published May 5, 2026
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Charles Lane
Published May 5, 2026
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Three Staten Island men have pleaded guilty to trying to bribe a juror with up to $100,000 in a federal cocaine trafficking trial of a former Montenegrin heavyweight boxer, prosecutors said.
Afrim Kupa, 53, pleaded guilty Tuesday to obstruction of justice before U.S. Magistrate Judge Peggy Kuo in Brooklyn, becoming the last of the three defendants to plead guilty in connection the scheme, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York. His codefendants, Mustafa Fteja, 54, and Valmir Krasniqi, 35, both also of Staten Island, pleaded guilty to charges earlier this year.
Each man faces up to 20 years in prison at sentencing.
The bribery plot disrupted the trial of Goran Gogic, a former Montenegrin heavyweight boxer accused of orchestrating a massive international cocaine trafficking operation. Prosecutors said Gogic conspired to ship roughly $1 billion worth of cocaine from Colombia to Europe through U.S. ports between 2018 and 2019 using commercial cargo ships. He faces up to life in prison if convicted.
"These defendants admitted they obstructed a federal criminal trial in Brooklyn by attempting to bribe a juror, which strikes at the very heart of the rule of law," U.S. Attorney Joseph Nocella Jr. said in a statement.
A jury in the Gogic case was selected in early November 2025, according to court documents. Between Nov. 13 and Nov. 17, the three men worked to bribe one of the jurors, prosecutors said.
Krasniqi arranged a meeting on Nov. 13 among himself, Kupa and Fteja in Staten Island, where Kupa told Fteja he and others wanted him to offer the juror money for a not guilty vote, prosecutors said. Two days later, Fteja told the juror they would be paid up to $100,000, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
The three met again on Nov. 16 at Krasniqi’s Staten Island home to finalize the plan, prosecutors said. Kupa and Krasniqi were arrested the next day.
When officers detained Kupa, he was carrying a document with the juror’s name, home address and place of employment, according to prosecutors. Krasniqi had a digital photograph of the juror on his phone that he had sent to Fteja, prosecutors said.
Lawyers for the three men, as well as an attorney for Gogic, did not return phone calls seeking comment.
Tagged
brooklyn
new york city
public safety
Charles Lane
Charles is a Day-of reporter focused on breaking news and enterprise. He’s very friendly and can be reached at [email protected], or more securely on whatsapp/signal 631-295-6715
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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