McGonigal is expected to plead guilty to charges that he took money from the former Albanian agent! VOA: 20 years in prison is expected! What does the agreement with the prosecutors contain?

Former FBI official Charles McGonigal is expected to plead guilty Friday to charges related to taking and concealing $225,000 from a former Albanian intelligence officer who, according to court records, became a source in an investigation. of the FBI.

The court agenda shows he is expected to appear in a hearing Friday afternoon.

The guilty plea, although it is not known specifically to what charges, will be a change from his not guilty plea at the start of the trial.

Asked by VOA what charge Mr. McGonigal will plead guilty to, one of his attorneys, Seth Ducharme, declined to comment.

The most serious charges against Mr. McGonigal carry a maximum sentence of 20 years, but the guilty plea appears to be part of a deal with prosecutors for a reduced sentence.

Almost always such a hearing means that both parties have reached an agreement and the purpose of the hearing is to present the agreement to the judge for approval. The judge almost always approves of it. Reaching a settlement would mean the case would not go to trial.

After Friday's hearing, there will be at least one more sentencing hearing. Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly will grant it at a later date.

The indictment filed against Mr. McGonigal in Washington federal court has nine counts, including that he received at least $225,000 from the Albanian-American later identified as Agim Neza, a former Albanian intelligence officer, in exchange for of promoting his business interests without notifying the FBI of his connections with it.

Akuzat kishin të bënin me fshehje faktesh materiale, deklarata të rreme dhe falsifikim dokumentash lidhur me marrëdhëniet me shqiptaro-amerikanin Neza, marrjen prej tij të 225 mijë dollarëve, udhëtime të siguara prej tij dhe të tjerëve dhe mosdeklarimin e tyre, udhëtime të padeklaruara, kontakte me shtetas të huaj, përfshirë kryeministrin e Shqipërisë dhe deklarimin e pozicionit të tij në kontakte me ta, pavarësisht se po i takonte në cilësi private dhe jozyrtare.

Për një pjesë të kësaj periudhe, Charles McGonigal kishte punuar për sektorin e kundërzbulimit të FBI-së, derisa u largua nga FBI-ja në shtator të vitit 2018 dhe ndër të tjera mbulonte edhe Shqipërinë dhe Bosnje Hercegovinën.

The former top FBI counterintelligence official pleaded guilty in August in a New York court to charges of violating US sanctions on Russia by working after retirement for Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska, whom he previously had investigated it.

In exchange for the guilty plea, prosecutors dropped other charges related to Mr. McGonigal's collaboration with Deripaska./VOA