Pharaohs Strip Club Raid Buffalo Mafia Links 12/15/2019
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Pharaohs Strip Club Raid Buffalo Mafia Links 12/15/2019
Law enforcement outside Pharaoh's Gentlemen's Club on Aero Drive in Cheektowaga on Thursday. (Robert Kirkham/Buffalo News)
Law enforcement outside Pharaoh's Gentlemen's Club on Aero Drive in Cheektowaga on Thursday. (Robert Kirkham/Buffalo News)
By Phil Fairbanks
Published December 15, 2019|Updated December 15, 2019
If you buy the argument that former DEA agent Joseph Bongiovanni is tied to the Buffalo mafia, it might be because of his boyhood relationship with Peter Gerace.
Gerace is the operator of Pharaoh's, the Cheektowaga strip club raided by federal agents Thursday, and the nephew of Joseph Todaro Jr.
For years, the FBI maintained the Todaro family – Todaro and his late father, Joseph Todaro Sr. – headed the local mob, but investigators never proved that allegation.
Federal prosecutors stopped short of tying Bongiovanni directly to the mob but, in his Nov. 5 indictment, made several references to "Italian organized crime."
When federal agents followed up by raiding Pharaoh's, two sources said the raid indicates prosecutors suspect there may be a link to the mob.
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On Friday, Gerace's lawyer dismissed that notion.
"Anyone who would suggest my client is connected to organized crime doesn't know him," said defense attorney Joel L. Daniels.
In addition, a lawyer who knows both Todaro and Gerace said the government's efforts to link the two is based on groundless allegations.
Two other sources who know Gerace said he and Bongiovanni go back decades, and that Gerace is "co-conspirator 1," a reference found repeatedly in the 11-count indictment against Bongiovanni.
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Pharaoh's strip club raid fuels reports of mafia links.
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The Other Border: At Akwesasne, where the border runs straight and nothing is simple.
The indictment does not mention Gerace or Pharaoh's by name but claims co-conspirator 1 called Bongiovanni from a Cheektowaga strip club he ran when one of his strippers overdosed on drugs.
Bongiovanni, according to the government, advised co-conspirator 1 to "get her out" of the club.
After his retirement from the Drug Enforcement Administration, Bongiovanni was interviewed and asked about his relationship with co-conspirator 1 and the former agent described him as a boyhood friend, according to the indictment.
"I would sometimes randomly encounter (him) at a restaurant or golf outing and have not made plans to meet him socially in several years," he said at the time.
Gerace is not charged at all but his brother, Anthony, is facing drug and firearms charges in a separate federal prosecution. Both cases are based on Homeland Security Investigations.
Anthony Gerace was indicted after federal agents searched his home in Clarence Center in January and found two hockey bags stuffed with marijuana, 14 firearms and $103,000 in cash, according to court papers.
A raid at Pharaoh's on Aero Drive in Cheektowaga on Thursday. (Robert Kirkham/Buffalo News)
When asked if Anthony Gerace's case is connected to Bongiovanni, Thomas J. Eoannou, his defense lawyer, said, "My client's charges stand alone in a separate indictment."
The court-ordered search of Pharaoh's on Aero Drive followed the indictment accusing Bongiovanni of taking $250,000 in bribes from drug dealers.
In return, according to prosecutors, he provided information on DEA investigations and the identity of cooperating sources. They also claim that he believed the drug dealers he was dealing with were tied to the Buffalo mafia.
He is also charged with creating fake investigations so that information, including the identity of cooperating sources, would be funneled his way.
Investigated by Homeland Security, FBI and the Justice Department's Inspector General Office, Bongiovanni is charged with conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to distribute controlled substances, obstruction of justice, making false statements to a federal agency and taking a bribe as a public official.
Bongiovanni, 55, of Tonawanda, has pleaded not guilty.
When asked about the allegation that Bongiovanni has ties to the mob, defense attorney Paul J. Cambria Jr. said he has heard those type of charges before.
"It makes for great press," he said at the time. "I've been hearing that for all the years I've been practicing. There's no basis for it."
After the Pharaoh's raid, Cambria said the raid may be part of the government's efforts at linking Peter Gerace to the conspiracy outlined in the charges against his client.
Cambria called the government's conspiracy allegations groundless and noted that the government is also trying to remove him from the case, claiming he has a conflict of interest.
NYS Police have blocked off the entrance to Pharoahs Gentlemen's Club on Aero Drive in Cheektowaga while other law enforcement search in and around the premises. pic.twitter.com/y1CAshuPVY
— Harold McNeil (@HaroldMcNeilBN) December 12, 2019
The U.S. Attorney's Office and Homeland Security Investigations have declined comment on the raid except to confirm that Homeland Security was at the scene of Pharaoh's on Thursday.
Bongiovanni, a former Erie County sheriff's deputy, was released on a $250,000 bond and ordered to limit his travel to Erie and Niagara counties.
News Staff Reporter Dan Herbeck contributed to this report.
Law enforcement outside Pharaoh's Gentlemen's Club on Aero Drive in Cheektowaga on Thursday. (Robert Kirkham/Buffalo News)
By Phil Fairbanks
Published December 15, 2019|Updated December 15, 2019
If you buy the argument that former DEA agent Joseph Bongiovanni is tied to the Buffalo mafia, it might be because of his boyhood relationship with Peter Gerace.
Gerace is the operator of Pharaoh's, the Cheektowaga strip club raided by federal agents Thursday, and the nephew of Joseph Todaro Jr.
For years, the FBI maintained the Todaro family – Todaro and his late father, Joseph Todaro Sr. – headed the local mob, but investigators never proved that allegation.
Federal prosecutors stopped short of tying Bongiovanni directly to the mob but, in his Nov. 5 indictment, made several references to "Italian organized crime."
When federal agents followed up by raiding Pharaoh's, two sources said the raid indicates prosecutors suspect there may be a link to the mob.
ADVERTISEMENT
On Friday, Gerace's lawyer dismissed that notion.
"Anyone who would suggest my client is connected to organized crime doesn't know him," said defense attorney Joel L. Daniels.
In addition, a lawyer who knows both Todaro and Gerace said the government's efforts to link the two is based on groundless allegations.
Two other sources who know Gerace said he and Bongiovanni go back decades, and that Gerace is "co-conspirator 1," a reference found repeatedly in the 11-count indictment against Bongiovanni.
Editors' Picks
Hearing and legal papers spill details as BPS tries to fire a principal who fires back.
[BN] Watchdog: What Maurice Garner got from Mayor Brown.
Pharaoh's strip club raid fuels reports of mafia links.
Teachers who say Amherst high school is making them sick file a lawsuit.
The Other Border: At Akwesasne, where the border runs straight and nothing is simple.
The indictment does not mention Gerace or Pharaoh's by name but claims co-conspirator 1 called Bongiovanni from a Cheektowaga strip club he ran when one of his strippers overdosed on drugs.
Bongiovanni, according to the government, advised co-conspirator 1 to "get her out" of the club.
After his retirement from the Drug Enforcement Administration, Bongiovanni was interviewed and asked about his relationship with co-conspirator 1 and the former agent described him as a boyhood friend, according to the indictment.
"I would sometimes randomly encounter (him) at a restaurant or golf outing and have not made plans to meet him socially in several years," he said at the time.
Gerace is not charged at all but his brother, Anthony, is facing drug and firearms charges in a separate federal prosecution. Both cases are based on Homeland Security Investigations.
Anthony Gerace was indicted after federal agents searched his home in Clarence Center in January and found two hockey bags stuffed with marijuana, 14 firearms and $103,000 in cash, according to court papers.
A raid at Pharaoh's on Aero Drive in Cheektowaga on Thursday. (Robert Kirkham/Buffalo News)
When asked if Anthony Gerace's case is connected to Bongiovanni, Thomas J. Eoannou, his defense lawyer, said, "My client's charges stand alone in a separate indictment."
The court-ordered search of Pharaoh's on Aero Drive followed the indictment accusing Bongiovanni of taking $250,000 in bribes from drug dealers.
In return, according to prosecutors, he provided information on DEA investigations and the identity of cooperating sources. They also claim that he believed the drug dealers he was dealing with were tied to the Buffalo mafia.
He is also charged with creating fake investigations so that information, including the identity of cooperating sources, would be funneled his way.
Investigated by Homeland Security, FBI and the Justice Department's Inspector General Office, Bongiovanni is charged with conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to distribute controlled substances, obstruction of justice, making false statements to a federal agency and taking a bribe as a public official.
Bongiovanni, 55, of Tonawanda, has pleaded not guilty.
When asked about the allegation that Bongiovanni has ties to the mob, defense attorney Paul J. Cambria Jr. said he has heard those type of charges before.
"It makes for great press," he said at the time. "I've been hearing that for all the years I've been practicing. There's no basis for it."
After the Pharaoh's raid, Cambria said the raid may be part of the government's efforts at linking Peter Gerace to the conspiracy outlined in the charges against his client.
Cambria called the government's conspiracy allegations groundless and noted that the government is also trying to remove him from the case, claiming he has a conflict of interest.
NYS Police have blocked off the entrance to Pharoahs Gentlemen's Club on Aero Drive in Cheektowaga while other law enforcement search in and around the premises. pic.twitter.com/y1CAshuPVY
— Harold McNeil (@HaroldMcNeilBN) December 12, 2019
The U.S. Attorney's Office and Homeland Security Investigations have declined comment on the raid except to confirm that Homeland Security was at the scene of Pharaoh's on Thursday.
Bongiovanni, a former Erie County sheriff's deputy, was released on a $250,000 bond and ordered to limit his travel to Erie and Niagara counties.
News Staff Reporter Dan Herbeck contributed to this report.
Re: Pharaohs Strip Club Raid Buffalo Mafia Links 12/15/2019
Former DEA agent accused of taking bribes from the mob
(Johannes Eisele/AFP via Getty Images)
(Johannes Eisele/AFP via Getty Images)
By Phil Fairbanks and Maki Becker
Published November 5, 2019|Updated November 5, 2019
Joseph Bongiovanni spent two decades as a federal agent working drug cases in Buffalo.
Now, just eight months after his retirement, the former Drug Enforcement Administration agent stands accused of taking $250,000 in bribes from drug dealers whom he believed to have ties to "Italian organized crime."
In return, he provided information on drug investigations and the identity of cooperating sources, according to the charges against him.
"Bongiovanni did not investigate his friends or associates and used his position as a DEA special agent ... to shield his friends and associates," prosecutors said in an 11-count indictment against him.
Investigated by Homeland Security, the FBI and the Justice Department's Inspector General Office, the former agent is charged with conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to distribute controlled substances, obstruction of justice, making false statements to a federal agency and taking a bribe as a public official.
ADVERTISEMENT
"The defendant was paid a quarter of a million dollars in bribes," Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph M. Tripi said in court Tuesday.
The drug conspiracy charge carries a maximum possible sentence of up to life in prison, while the maximum possible sentences for the remaining counts range from five years to 20 years in prison.
Prosecutors claim Bongiovanni's criminal conduct lasted more than a decade and included the sale and use of cocaine.
Editors' Picks
Hearing and legal papers spill details as BPS tries to fire a principal who fires back.
[BN] Watchdog: What Maurice Garner got from Mayor Brown.
Pharaoh's strip club raid fuels reports of mafia links.
Teachers who say Amherst high school is making them sick file a lawsuit.
The Other Border: At Akwesasne, where the border runs straight and nothing is simple.
Bongiovanni, 55, of Tonawanda pleaded not guilty during an appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael J. Roemer, and his lawyer suggested the charges are groundless.
"This is an allegation," defense lawyer Paul C. Cambria told Roemer. "This is an accusation. There hasn't been any proof yet."
When asked later about the allegation that Bongiovanni has ties to the mob, Cambria said he has heard those type of charges before.
"It makes for great press," he said. "I've been hearing that for all the years I've been practicing. There's no basis for it."
Bongiovanni surrendered himself to federal authorities Tuesday morning at the federal courthouse in downtown Buffalo, where he was later arraigned.
In the indictment unsealed Tuesday, prosecutors accuse the longtime agent of having friends and associates he knew sold marijuana and cocaine and providing them with regular "debriefings" on local drug investigations by the DEA and other agencies.
He is also charged with creating fake investigations so that information, including the identity of cooperating sources, would be funneled his way.
To back up those allegations, prosecutors detail a series of alleged instances of Bongiovanni working on behalf of his co-conspirators.
He is accused, for example, of officially interceding with federal probation officials on behalf of an associate facing punishment for violating his court-supervised release.
On another occasion, according to the indictment, he became involved in the overdose of a stripper at a Cheektowaga "gentlemen's club" operated by a co-conspirator.
Bongiovanni advised his associate to "get her out" of the club, according to court papers.
The former agent is also accused of closing a DEA file on his co-conspirators while at the same time telling fellow agents the file was still open.
Shortly after his retirement in February, Bongiovanni was interviewed by investigators and asked about his relationship with that same co-conspirator, whom he described as a boyhood friend.
"I would sometimes randomly encounter (him) at a restaurant or golf outing and have not made plans to meet him socially in several years," he said at the time.
Bongiovanni, a former Erie County sheriff's deputy, was released on a $250,000 bond and ordered to limit his travel to Erie and Niagara counties.
Left to right at Tuesday's press conference are Assistant U.S. Attorneys Brendan T. Cullinane and Joseph M. Tripi, U.S. Attorney James P. Kennedy Jr., Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent In Charge Kevin Kelly, Justice Department Inspector General New York Field Office Special Agent in Charge Guido Modano and FBI Special Agent in Charge Gary Loeffert. (Maki Becker/Buffalo News)
At a news conference following Bongiovanni's court appearance, federal authorities made clear that they believe Bongiovanni "was part of a broader and larger organized criminal conspiracy" and that the investigation is far from over.
"This investigation – all aspects of it – remain ongoing, not only Mr. Bongiovanni's conduct but the conduct of his co-conspirators, and other individuals, and I'll leave it at that," said U.S. Attorney James P. Kennedy Jr.
He declined to say whether the case was connected to any other recent federal drug cases in the Buffalo area.
"I'm not going to comment on what is connected and what isn't connected," Kennedy said.
Prosecutors were coy about connecting him directly to the Buffalo mafia, which most law enforcement say is largely nonexistent now.
In court documents and in a press release about the arrest, prosecutors describe the "friends" Bongiovanni is accused of taking bribes from and shielding as "individuals whom he believed were members and associates of IOC [Italian Organized Crime]."
Kennedy refused Tuesday to say definitively that Bongiovanni was working for the mob or that the mob was involved.
"I'm not going to engage in that sort of discussion," Kennedy said.
He said words in the court documents were "carefully chosen."
As the case continues, federal investigators will look at previous cases Bongiovanni was involved in, Kennedy said. So far, it doesn't appear that he may have planted evidence or other such activities, he said.
Authorities also sought to portray Bongiovanni as an "exception" and not the norm.
"Let me be absolutely clear: These charges should in no way be a reflection of the thousands of DEA special agents who serve this nation with honor and integrity, every day," said Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent in Charge Kevin Kelly. "Joseph Bongiovanni is the exception. He chose his own path and charted his own course of deception and betrayal."
(Johannes Eisele/AFP via Getty Images)
(Johannes Eisele/AFP via Getty Images)
By Phil Fairbanks and Maki Becker
Published November 5, 2019|Updated November 5, 2019
Joseph Bongiovanni spent two decades as a federal agent working drug cases in Buffalo.
Now, just eight months after his retirement, the former Drug Enforcement Administration agent stands accused of taking $250,000 in bribes from drug dealers whom he believed to have ties to "Italian organized crime."
In return, he provided information on drug investigations and the identity of cooperating sources, according to the charges against him.
"Bongiovanni did not investigate his friends or associates and used his position as a DEA special agent ... to shield his friends and associates," prosecutors said in an 11-count indictment against him.
Investigated by Homeland Security, the FBI and the Justice Department's Inspector General Office, the former agent is charged with conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to distribute controlled substances, obstruction of justice, making false statements to a federal agency and taking a bribe as a public official.
ADVERTISEMENT
"The defendant was paid a quarter of a million dollars in bribes," Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph M. Tripi said in court Tuesday.
The drug conspiracy charge carries a maximum possible sentence of up to life in prison, while the maximum possible sentences for the remaining counts range from five years to 20 years in prison.
Prosecutors claim Bongiovanni's criminal conduct lasted more than a decade and included the sale and use of cocaine.
Editors' Picks
Hearing and legal papers spill details as BPS tries to fire a principal who fires back.
[BN] Watchdog: What Maurice Garner got from Mayor Brown.
Pharaoh's strip club raid fuels reports of mafia links.
Teachers who say Amherst high school is making them sick file a lawsuit.
The Other Border: At Akwesasne, where the border runs straight and nothing is simple.
Bongiovanni, 55, of Tonawanda pleaded not guilty during an appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael J. Roemer, and his lawyer suggested the charges are groundless.
"This is an allegation," defense lawyer Paul C. Cambria told Roemer. "This is an accusation. There hasn't been any proof yet."
When asked later about the allegation that Bongiovanni has ties to the mob, Cambria said he has heard those type of charges before.
"It makes for great press," he said. "I've been hearing that for all the years I've been practicing. There's no basis for it."
Bongiovanni surrendered himself to federal authorities Tuesday morning at the federal courthouse in downtown Buffalo, where he was later arraigned.
In the indictment unsealed Tuesday, prosecutors accuse the longtime agent of having friends and associates he knew sold marijuana and cocaine and providing them with regular "debriefings" on local drug investigations by the DEA and other agencies.
He is also charged with creating fake investigations so that information, including the identity of cooperating sources, would be funneled his way.
To back up those allegations, prosecutors detail a series of alleged instances of Bongiovanni working on behalf of his co-conspirators.
He is accused, for example, of officially interceding with federal probation officials on behalf of an associate facing punishment for violating his court-supervised release.
On another occasion, according to the indictment, he became involved in the overdose of a stripper at a Cheektowaga "gentlemen's club" operated by a co-conspirator.
Bongiovanni advised his associate to "get her out" of the club, according to court papers.
The former agent is also accused of closing a DEA file on his co-conspirators while at the same time telling fellow agents the file was still open.
Shortly after his retirement in February, Bongiovanni was interviewed by investigators and asked about his relationship with that same co-conspirator, whom he described as a boyhood friend.
"I would sometimes randomly encounter (him) at a restaurant or golf outing and have not made plans to meet him socially in several years," he said at the time.
Bongiovanni, a former Erie County sheriff's deputy, was released on a $250,000 bond and ordered to limit his travel to Erie and Niagara counties.
Left to right at Tuesday's press conference are Assistant U.S. Attorneys Brendan T. Cullinane and Joseph M. Tripi, U.S. Attorney James P. Kennedy Jr., Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent In Charge Kevin Kelly, Justice Department Inspector General New York Field Office Special Agent in Charge Guido Modano and FBI Special Agent in Charge Gary Loeffert. (Maki Becker/Buffalo News)
At a news conference following Bongiovanni's court appearance, federal authorities made clear that they believe Bongiovanni "was part of a broader and larger organized criminal conspiracy" and that the investigation is far from over.
"This investigation – all aspects of it – remain ongoing, not only Mr. Bongiovanni's conduct but the conduct of his co-conspirators, and other individuals, and I'll leave it at that," said U.S. Attorney James P. Kennedy Jr.
He declined to say whether the case was connected to any other recent federal drug cases in the Buffalo area.
"I'm not going to comment on what is connected and what isn't connected," Kennedy said.
Prosecutors were coy about connecting him directly to the Buffalo mafia, which most law enforcement say is largely nonexistent now.
In court documents and in a press release about the arrest, prosecutors describe the "friends" Bongiovanni is accused of taking bribes from and shielding as "individuals whom he believed were members and associates of IOC [Italian Organized Crime]."
Kennedy refused Tuesday to say definitively that Bongiovanni was working for the mob or that the mob was involved.
"I'm not going to engage in that sort of discussion," Kennedy said.
He said words in the court documents were "carefully chosen."
As the case continues, federal investigators will look at previous cases Bongiovanni was involved in, Kennedy said. So far, it doesn't appear that he may have planted evidence or other such activities, he said.
Authorities also sought to portray Bongiovanni as an "exception" and not the norm.
"Let me be absolutely clear: These charges should in no way be a reflection of the thousands of DEA special agents who serve this nation with honor and integrity, every day," said Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent in Charge Kevin Kelly. "Joseph Bongiovanni is the exception. He chose his own path and charted his own course of deception and betrayal."
Re: Pharaohs Strip Club Raid Buffalo Mafia Links 12/15/2019
I-Team: Is strip club raid a sign of Buffalo Mafia resurgence?
Crimes north of Canadian border alleged
Posted: 5:02 PM, Dec 17, 2019 Updated: 11:33 PM, Dec 17, 2019
By: Charlie Specht
BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — Last month, federal prosecutors indicted former DEA agent Joseph Bongiovanni for allegedly accepting bribes from criminals with ties to what they called “Italian organized crime.”
Last week, the feds followed up with a raid at Pharaoh’s Gentleman’s Club in Cheektowaga. The strip club is operated by Peter Gerace, who is related to the Todaro family that the FBI accused decades ago of running the Buffalo mob (the Todaros denied the charges).
But documents obtained by the 7 Eyewitness News I-Team show these recent developments are part of a wider federal investigation into the possible re-emergence of organized crime in Buffalo.
And they’ve left many to wonder: is the Buffalo Mafia actually dead? Or has it somehow come back to life?
“I would have trouble believing that there is an organized crime family in Buffalo,” said Lee Coppola, an expert on the Buffalo Mafia who broke stories on organized crime as a former Buffalo News and WKBW-TV reporter.
During his reporting, Coppola once knocked on the door of Stefano Magaddino, the now-deceased crime boss from Niagara County who wielded immense power in the underworld as head of the Buffalo mob.
“He’s been ancient history for 40 years,” Coppola said in a recent interview.
The organization Magaddino once ran died a slow death, Coppola said, hastened by a loss of revenue, crime figures who no longer practiced a code of silence and federal prosecution like the probe in the 1990s that purged crime figures from the ranks of Laborers Local 210.
Coppola said prosecutors may be grasping in their attempts to connect current criminal activity to the old crime syndicate. A spokeswoman for U.S. Attorney J.P. Kennedy did not respond to a request for comment.
“What happens a lot of times is that there are criminal elements, people who commit crimes or people who are investigated for crimes,” he said. “And if they happen to have a last name that ends in a vowel, the tendency is to say, ‘Oh, there's a criminal crime family, La Cosa Nostra,’ the mafia is thriving and growing. I have trouble believing that.”
Attorney Joel Daniels, who represents Gerace, said, “there are no mafia ties” to his client. Attorney Paul Cambria, who represents Bongiovanni, said last month that the mafia references in Bongiovanni’s indictment make for sensational headlines but are not grounded in fact.
But former Hamilton, Ont., police officer Paul Manning said any reports of the mob’s extinction are inaccurate.
“That's just not true,” Manning said. “There's definitely a presence.”
He acknowledged the Buffalo crime family was weakened in the 1990s and 2000s, but said recent gangland-style killings in Canada show they are starting to become active again.
The Buffalo gangsters now are “nothing more than a satellite family to control Ontario and parts of Montreal,” Manning said.
New York City crime families, he said, are using Buffalo underworld figures to fight a “proxy war” in Canada because they are hoping to tap into the 9 million people in the country’s “Golden Horseshoe” region.
“You've got a reemergence because there's so much profit to be made north of the Border,” Manning said.
Manning has direct knowledge of mafia efforts to infiltrate law enforcement. As a police officer, he went undercover in the mob, an experience that nearly cost him his life . He said he was betrayed by crooked Hamilton officers and nearly killed by a mob hit. He is now suing the Hamilton government.
The allegations against Bongiovanni, the former DEA agent, follow the same pattern, and the I-Team has learned that Bongiovanni is not the only police officer suspected of breaking the law.
“It also confirms that we do have a problem with law enforcement working for the other side,” Manning said
Crimes north of Canadian border alleged
Posted: 5:02 PM, Dec 17, 2019 Updated: 11:33 PM, Dec 17, 2019
By: Charlie Specht
BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — Last month, federal prosecutors indicted former DEA agent Joseph Bongiovanni for allegedly accepting bribes from criminals with ties to what they called “Italian organized crime.”
Last week, the feds followed up with a raid at Pharaoh’s Gentleman’s Club in Cheektowaga. The strip club is operated by Peter Gerace, who is related to the Todaro family that the FBI accused decades ago of running the Buffalo mob (the Todaros denied the charges).
But documents obtained by the 7 Eyewitness News I-Team show these recent developments are part of a wider federal investigation into the possible re-emergence of organized crime in Buffalo.
And they’ve left many to wonder: is the Buffalo Mafia actually dead? Or has it somehow come back to life?
“I would have trouble believing that there is an organized crime family in Buffalo,” said Lee Coppola, an expert on the Buffalo Mafia who broke stories on organized crime as a former Buffalo News and WKBW-TV reporter.
During his reporting, Coppola once knocked on the door of Stefano Magaddino, the now-deceased crime boss from Niagara County who wielded immense power in the underworld as head of the Buffalo mob.
“He’s been ancient history for 40 years,” Coppola said in a recent interview.
The organization Magaddino once ran died a slow death, Coppola said, hastened by a loss of revenue, crime figures who no longer practiced a code of silence and federal prosecution like the probe in the 1990s that purged crime figures from the ranks of Laborers Local 210.
Coppola said prosecutors may be grasping in their attempts to connect current criminal activity to the old crime syndicate. A spokeswoman for U.S. Attorney J.P. Kennedy did not respond to a request for comment.
“What happens a lot of times is that there are criminal elements, people who commit crimes or people who are investigated for crimes,” he said. “And if they happen to have a last name that ends in a vowel, the tendency is to say, ‘Oh, there's a criminal crime family, La Cosa Nostra,’ the mafia is thriving and growing. I have trouble believing that.”
Attorney Joel Daniels, who represents Gerace, said, “there are no mafia ties” to his client. Attorney Paul Cambria, who represents Bongiovanni, said last month that the mafia references in Bongiovanni’s indictment make for sensational headlines but are not grounded in fact.
But former Hamilton, Ont., police officer Paul Manning said any reports of the mob’s extinction are inaccurate.
“That's just not true,” Manning said. “There's definitely a presence.”
He acknowledged the Buffalo crime family was weakened in the 1990s and 2000s, but said recent gangland-style killings in Canada show they are starting to become active again.
The Buffalo gangsters now are “nothing more than a satellite family to control Ontario and parts of Montreal,” Manning said.
New York City crime families, he said, are using Buffalo underworld figures to fight a “proxy war” in Canada because they are hoping to tap into the 9 million people in the country’s “Golden Horseshoe” region.
“You've got a reemergence because there's so much profit to be made north of the Border,” Manning said.
Manning has direct knowledge of mafia efforts to infiltrate law enforcement. As a police officer, he went undercover in the mob, an experience that nearly cost him his life . He said he was betrayed by crooked Hamilton officers and nearly killed by a mob hit. He is now suing the Hamilton government.
The allegations against Bongiovanni, the former DEA agent, follow the same pattern, and the I-Team has learned that Bongiovanni is not the only police officer suspected of breaking the law.
“It also confirms that we do have a problem with law enforcement working for the other side,” Manning said
Re: Pharaohs Strip Club Raid Buffalo Mafia Links 12/15/2019
I Team Resurgence of the Buffalo Mob Video Dec.2019
-
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Re: Pharaohs Strip Club Raid Buffalo Mafia Links 12/15/2019
Had no idea Manning was English
Re: Pharaohs Strip Club Raid Buffalo Mafia Links 12/15/2019
I didn't know that either ! And I wish I didn't have to post a 12,000 word dialogue over 3 or 4 posts , I tried posting just the Links and it wouldn't allow me to post for whatever reason
Re: Pharaohs Strip Club Raid Buffalo Mafia Links 12/15/2019
The Investigation by the Feds is ongoing so let's see if they manage to get anything substantial on the U.S. Side with anything regarding the old original buffalo Lcn
- FriendofFamily
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Re: Pharaohs Strip Club Raid Buffalo Mafia Links 12/15/2019
Thanks for Posting and sometimes it's better to post like you did because some people won't always hit the Links.
Know which Game to Play
Re: Pharaohs Strip Club Raid Buffalo Mafia Links 12/15/2019
https://www.wgrz.com/article/news/crime ... ......LINK WITH SHORT VIDEO OF PETER GERACE JR. ORIGINAL BUST MAY.2019
Re: Pharaohs Strip Club Raid Buffalo Mafia Links 12/15/2019
FriendofFamily wrote: ↑Fri Dec 20, 2019 7:18 am Thanks for Posting and sometimes it's better to post like you did because some people won't always hit the Links.
Re: Pharaohs Strip Club Raid Buffalo Mafia Links 12/15/2019
There's already a thread on this. Don't need the same discussion going on in two separate threads.
viewtopic.php?f=29&t=4122&start=2780
viewtopic.php?f=29&t=4122&start=2780
All roads lead to New York.
Re: Pharaohs Strip Club Raid Buffalo Mafia Links 12/15/2019
Oh shit didn't realize to just add this to that threadWiseguy wrote: ↑Fri Dec 20, 2019 7:50 pm There's already a thread on this. Don't need the same discussion going on in two separate threads.
viewtopic.php?f=29&t=4122&start=2780
Re: Pharaohs Strip Club Raid Buffalo Mafia Links 12/15/2019
Or that it was posted already