Cheektowaga strip club owner ordered held until trial following new arrest

District Judge John L. Sinatra Jr. ruled there was "clear and convincing evidence that no condition or combination of conditions of release will reasonably assure the safety of any other person and the community," according to court documents.

Sinatra also found that because of Peter G. Gerace Jr.'s prior criminal history, the length of prison time he faces if convicted and the "strong" weight of evidence against him, he should be detained pending trial, according to the documents.

Gerace, 55, was arrested Friday after being accused of sending threatening Facebook messages to a potential witness against him in 2019. Sinatra ordered him held following a hearing that began Friday and concluded Monday afternoon. He was arraigned on three counts of witness tampering and one count of distributing cocaine.

Gerace, owner of Pharaoh's Gentlemen's Club, is scheduled to go on trial in June on charges he bribed former U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration Agent Joseph Bongiovanni, engaged in a conspiracy to sell drugs and commit sex trafficking and maintained a drug-involved premises at Pharaoh's. He was indicted on those charges in 2021.

He and Bongiovanni have pleaded not guilty.