BUFFALO, N.Y. — Lockport Attorney George Muscato will continue as counsel for John Ermin, identified by federal prosecutors as the reputed international president of the Outlaws Motorcycle Club.
A judge also approved Ermin's application under the Criminal Judicial Act, which allows for compensation for legal representation for accused persons who are financially unable to retain counsel in federal criminal proceedings.
Ermin is one of several individuals charged as part of a sweeping investigation into Pharaoh's Gentlemen's Club owner Peter Gerace, which resulted in Gerace being charged with numerous counts including drug and sex trafficking.
Gerace's co-defendant in the case, former DEA Agent Joseph Bongiovanni, is currently awaiting the jury's verdict in his month-and-a-half long trial, where he is accused of accepting bribes from Gerace and others in exchange for protecting their drug operations.
Ermin worked for Gerace as the general manager at Pharaoh's, where he was known to most as "Tommy-O."
"He is a humble man, who wanted to work rather than to collect disability," Muscato said, regarding his client, whom he noted lost a leg in an accident 20 years ago.
When asked about allegations that Erwin heads a motorcycle gang tied by law enforcement to criminal activity, Muscato replied, "That's the assumption of the government but they would need to prove that."
Ermin, 54, is currently being held without bail and appeared in court Friday wearing fatigues from the Livingston County Jail, where he is currently housed.
Ermin is charged with only one count; possessing firearms while being a recreational user of marijuana, and such a charge ordinarily might not encounter opposition from prosecutors if a defendant sought conditions for release pending trial.
In Ermin's case, however, his ties to Gerace, his possible role as alleged by prosecutors in the death of a federal witness, and his reputed role with the Outlaws were enough for Chief U.S. District Judge Elizabeth A. Wolford to order him held.
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