BUFFALO, N.Y. — The owner of Pharaoh's Gentlemen's Club is facing new federal charges, according to his lawyer.
Attorney Steven Cohen tells 2 On Your Side that federal agents arrested and arraigned Peter Gerace on Friday night for charges of witness tampering. The charges stem from allegations that Gerace sent a threatening Facebook message in 2019 to a potential witness against him.
Cohen argues the alleged incident happened before Gerace was arrested, arraigned, or indicted the first time, and these new charges don't make sense. He added, "We are relishing the opportunity to cross examine the complainant under oath at trial."
Gerace will have a federal detention hearing for the new charges he's facing on Monday afternoon.
Gerace was arrested in 2021 and indicted on charges of drug & sex trafficking, and bribing an undercover DEA agent.
The 2021 indictment accuses Gerace of paying bribes to Joseph Bongiovanni, a now-retired DEA agent out of the Buffalo field office.
The U.S. Attorney's Office alleges Bongiovanni took bribes in exchange for not investigating, shielding, and providing information to people who were involved with organized crime. Bongiovanni is also charged with accepting a bribe as a public official, maintaining drug-involved premises, and conspiring to commit sex trafficking.
Officials say Bongiovanni allegedly accepted bribes between 2008 and 2017 totaling at least $250,000.
The charges these men face carry a maximum penalty of life in prison.
A federal trial for Gerace and Bonjiovanni is set to start June 21.