In one incident last November, an intoxicated DEA agent was arrested after he pulled his government issued-firearm on a fellow patron in a bar in Bozeman, Montana. The DEA has been hit hard by scandals and misconduct allegations in recent years.
The transactions were memorialized in texts between Costanzo and the task force officer, with Costanzo asking for 'the exact name of the company,' and the task force officer replying with a photo of his checkbook." In one example, feds say the unnamed task force officer working with the DEA incorporated a company that Recio used to transfer more than $20,000 to Costanzo.
"The funds were routed through a network of bank accounts controlled by coworkers, family members, and associates, according to prosecutors. "In all, the feds say Recio paid Costanzo more than $70,000 to leak DEA secrets to him," the report continued. READ: Rudy Giuliani deposed for more than 9 hours by Jan.
On top of providing restricted data, the filing alleges that Costanzo - while on the DEA payroll - in fact 'assisted Recio in his work as a private investigator on behalf of charged defendants.'"Īccording to the report, if Costanzo and Recio are convicted, they each face up to 60 years in prison. "He then began working as a private investigator for defense lawyers in Miami, using privileged info to help them recruit new clients and get a leg up on the government in court, the indictment states. "The feds say Costanzo shared the sensitive data on an 'as-needed basis' to former DEA Assistant Special Agent-in-Charge Manuel Recio, 53, who worked out of the Miami Field Office until his retirement in 2018," said the report. He has been hit with three dozen indictments including perjury, tax evasion, and stealing from clients, including a mentally ill paraplegic man who won a settlement from Los Angeles County. In 2021, Avenatti was sentenced to two years in prison for trying to extort $20 million from Nike. Avenatti’s extreme rise and fall played out on the most public of platforms, an experience he is unlikely to ever recover from reputationally.”Īvenatti's conviction for stealing from Daniels, who also alleges he filed an ill-fated defamation suit against Trump in her name without her consent, is not the only criminal conviction secured against the firebrand California lawyer. “This sobering reality is as sufficient and powerful a punishment and deterrence as any," declared his lawyers. "He tried to justify taking some proceeds by citing legal quests he took on for Daniels to negate the effects of a 2016 payment she said she received to remain silent about a tryst with Donald Trump." He was convicted of cheating Daniels of nearly $300,000 in book proceeds," said the report. His lawyers wrote on Thursday in a Manhattan federal court submission that he wants counseling and alcohol treatment. "His lawyers cite a letter he sent to the porn actor saying he is truly sorry.