A federal jury found Peter Gerace Jr., the owner of Pharaoh’s Gentleman’s Club in Cheektowaga, guilty on eight of nine counts brought against him.
The jury convicted Gerace of conspiracy to defraud the United States, bribery, sex trafficking conspiracy, maintaining a drug-involved premises, narcotics conspiracy, witness tampering and distribution of cocaine. Jurors acquitted him of one charge of witness tampering.
Prosecutors said that between 2005 and 2019, Gerace conspired to defraud the U.S. and paid cash bribes to Drug Enforcement Administration special agent Joseph Bongiovanni. In exchange, Bongiovanni protected Gerace and used his position to prevent other members of law enforcement from conducting investigations into Gerace’s activities at Pharaoh’s.
In October, Bongiovanni was found guilty on seven of the 11 counts brought against him. The verdict came after Bongiovanni was found guilty in April on two of the 15 counts brought against him in the first trial. You can watch our previous report below and read more here .