BUFFALO, N.Y. — After seven weeks of testimony, the prosecution called what was expected to be its final witness at the trial of Pharaoh's strip club owner Peter Gerace.
Gerace stands charged under a federal indictment with counts of drug trafficking, sex trafficking, bribery, and witness tampering.
Gerace, who has been held in custody for more than one and a half years, has staunchly claimed he is innocent.
FBI Special Agent Tom Burns remained on the stand throughout most of Tuesday. Burns is the case agent assigned to the prosecution team and as such sat in on all the testimony.
Burns testified as a so called summary witness, and his testimony was aimed at wrapping up the prosecutions case.
However, Gerace's lawyers, through their cross examination, aimed to unravel it.
Burns testified the FBI reviewed 1,027 text messages between Gerace and the late NY State Supreme Court Justice John Michalski, who was described by some witnesses at the trial as a frequent visitor to Pharaoh's partaking in drug and sex parties.
A remark from the bench Tuesday by presiding Judge Lawrence Vilardo, where he said he considered Michalski a co-conspirator in the case, indicates Michalski might have been charged himself, had he not committed suicide just days after the FBI raided his Amherst home in March of 2022.
Burns also testified in regard to 165 text messages between Gerace and former Amherst Police Detective Greg Trotter.
Trotter was the arresting officer in cases involving Gerace's ex-wife and a former girlfriend, both of whom Gerace had filed complaints against, and both of whom testified at his trial.
Trotter was later the subject of a criminal complaint filed by the government for allegedly lying to federal agents regarding his association with Gerace.
Throughout the trial, the prosecution produced numerous former Pharaoh's employees as witnesses to testify that Pharaoh's was a drug involved premise where narcotics were both used and sold, and where sex acts for money occurred between exotic dancers and patrons.
The defense has, through its cross examinations, noted there were several other former employees who while interviewed by the FBI were never called to the stand.
Further, the defense notes that many of the witnesses who were called had either been fired from their jobs, expressed a bias toward Gerace, or face unrelated charges for which they might be seeking a break through their testimony, as well as some who are getting financial assistance through a government witness program.
The defense also made a point to note the government is relying on such witnesses without having sent undercover police into the place to look around for themselves.
Moreover, they note during the raid on Pharaoh's that led to charges against Gerace, agents recovered no evidence of significant drug activity there and their review of seven weeks worth of footage from numerous surveillance cameras inside the club did not detect illegal sex acts occurring there.
The defense is expected to begin calling witnesses Wednesday and jurors are expected to get the case either late this week or early next.