Federal prosecutors can delay revealing the names of some witnesses in a bribery and drug and human trafficking trial that stems from a federal organized crime investigation – for now.
U.S. District Judge John L. Sinatra Jr. ruled Monday that prosecutors may identify some witnesses only as "protected witness" because of concerns about their safety until May 10, and perhaps beyond then.
Cheektowaga strip club owner Peter G. Gerace Jr. and retired U.S. Drug Enforcement Administrative Agent Joseph S. Bongiovanni are scheduled to go on trial June 21 in Buffalo.
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Bongiovanni is charged with taking $250,000 in bribes to help protect Gerace and others whom he believed were associated with Italian organized crime. Gerace, who owns Pharaoh’s Gentlemen’s Club, is charged with bribing Bongiovanni and conspiring to engage in drug trafficking and human trafficking at his strip club.
Gerace is the nephew of Joseph A. Todaro, whom prosecutors and federal agents have identified in court documents as the leader of Buffalo’s “Italian Organized Crime” organization. Todaro, the owner of La Nova Pizza, is not charged in the case and has denied being involved in organized crime.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph M. Tripi told the judge in court on Friday that there are safety concerns about “seven, eight or nine” of the approximately 100 people he expects to call as witnesses at the trial. He made no allegations that anyone has been threatened, but said some witnesses could face danger if local criminals find out they are cooperating with law enforcement.
Defense attorney Steven M. Cohen, who represents Gerace, said Tuesday that the judge's ruling is a step in the right direction because it does require the prosecution to start sharing its evidence with the defense.
"My client still is terribly disadvantaged. I don’t know the name of a single witness, a single victim, a single transaction for which my client has been indicted. That is ludicrous," he said.
"Mr. Tripi continues to say my client is a danger. He hasn’t been able to point to a single instance where my client has threatened anyone directly or indirectly," Cohen said.
James P. Harrington, who represents Bongiovanni, said Tuesday he believes the prosecution will tell defense attorneys the identities of the "protected witnesses" before the trial begins. Typically, he said, the government does provide that information to defense attorneys before trials begin to avoid delays in the middle of trials. But under the federal rules of evidence, the prosecution doesn't have to provide the defense with evidence of prior statements by witnesses until after a witness testifies, he said.
Sinatra also ruled that prosecutors can file under seal – so that they are not available to the public – its pre-trial memos, witness list, exhibit list and prior statements by witnesses.
The court and defense attorneys would have access to those documents. But the defense attorneys would be barred from sharing with Gerace and Bongiovanni the contents of witnesses' prior statements to law enforcement until May 10 – 42 days before the start of the trial.
"That's abnormal. That's not the usual situation," Harrington said.
Under the judge's ruling, defense attorneys would also be barred from sharing the identities of witnesses or their prior statements with anyone outside the defense team.
Tripi and the U.S. Attorney's Office did not respond Tuesday to a request for comment.
