U.S. attorneys submit reasons to stop jailhouse interviews with convicted strip club owner

Yahoo

12-02-2025

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — Federal prosecutors provided their reasons for a limited gag order for the convicted owner of Pharaoh's Gentlemen's Club to prevent him from doing jailhouse media interviews.
In December, a jury convicted club owner Peter Gerace on eight of nine counts, including sex and drug trafficking, witness tampering and maintaining a drug-involved business at Pharaoh's.
He is locked up at the Chautauqua County jail and faces up to life in prison at his August sentencing.
Judge temporarily blocks media interviews with convicted Pharaoh's owner
Prosecutors said a gag order is typically a 'tool of last resort,' but is necessary in this case to protect witnesses, confidential information and prevent him from railing against prosecutors and the court.
Gerace is under a protective order that prohibits sharing sensitive information, such as witness identities and their statements, but prosecutors said there is no reason to trust he will comply if he engages in an interview.
'Gerace could also exploit an interview to disseminate messages, coded or otherwise, to others,' prosecutors said in court documents. 'Either risk could place innocent third parties in danger. And once that occurs, the damage will have been done: the government will have no practical recourse if the defendant engages in an interview with the media to disclose the substance of protected materials, or if he manipulates the media to use it as a proxy to broadly transmit veiled threats, or to convey coded messages, for his nefarious purposes.'
In addition, Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joseph Tripi, Nicholas Cooper and Casey Chalbeck argued that inmates under the control of the U.S. Marshals Service do not have a guaranteed First Amendment right.
Both before and after his two-month trial, Gerace sent letters to News 4 Investigates accusing some witnesses of perjury and prosecutors of misconduct.
The U.S. Attorneys Office had no comment.
Shortly after Gerace's Dec. 27 conviction, a third party contacted News 4 about Gerace's request for a jailhouse interview.
Gerace did not testify at his own trial and his defense team did not call any witnesses to testify.News 4 Investigates was planning for that interview before the U.S. Attorneys Office requested a temporary halt to give prosecutors and Gerace's defense team time to file their arguments.
During a Jan. 21 status conference, Gerace's attorneys, Eric Soehnlein and Mark Foti, said they did not 'entirely understand the media inquiry or what it came from.'
Soehnlein said there is a 'mutual understanding' with the government that Gerace must abide by the protective order, and he would need some direction on what information he cannot disclose or discuss.
While the judge gave an early indication of what he thought about gagging a defendant, he agreed the concerns about the protective order need to be addressed.
'Let me say this: I don't want to gag Mr. Gerace if he wants to speak to the media,' said U.S District Court Judge Lawrence Vilardo. 'I understand that you may feel differently about it, but the decision of what to do is his. And it's not my job to prevent people from speaking to the media when they want to speak to the media.'
The government's motion states that U.S. Marshals Service has rules governing media access to federal detainees that require permission from various authorities, including the U.S. Attorney's Office, U.S. Marshals Service, defense attorneys and the court.
Gerace told News 4 Investigates he was trying to secure permission, but he thought it would be a conflict of interest for the U.S. Attorneys Office to have a say in the matter.
Prosecutors noted in their gag order request that Gerace 'intentionally avoided seeking permission from the U.S. Attorney's Office and the Court.'
'The government is very concerned that the defendant will seek to use the media to threaten or harass victims, witnesses, or others involved in this case,' prosecutors said in court documents.
Judge extends halt on media interviews for convicted strip club owner Peter Gerace Jr.
Prosecutors said if Gerace believes his trial was unfair and has concerns about the government's case and witnesses, he can file them with the court and allow them to litigate the merits of his claims.
'Gerace's apparent disregard for the same set of rules applicable to every other federal inmate marks just another chapter in his now long (and well-documented) history of throwing the law to the wind to achieve his personal ends,' prosecutors said.
Gerace's attorneys have until Feb. 18 to respond to the government's gag order request.
Dan Telvock is an award-winning investigative producer and reporter who has been part of the News 4 team since 2018. See more of his work here and follow him on Twitter.
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