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Prosecutors raised concerns over witness safety and anxiety, given what they call the extensive media coverage of the bribery, sex- and drug-trafficking case.

Among those expected to testify include several women whom Peter Gerace Jr. employed as dancers at his Pharaoh’s Gentlemen’s Club, prosecutors said.

The government contends Gerace and his associates groomed the vulnerable and drug-addicted women into a life of daily drug use and coerced and manipulated them into engaging in commercial sex acts. Several are nervous and scared, prosecutors say, and all of them are anxious about publicly recounting how their bodies were used to satisfy the sexual desires of well-paying men who patronized Pharaoh’s. Their testimony will be embarrassing and, if the trial is held in Buffalo, the already intense media coverage will be extensive, said Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Tripi, the lead prosecutor.

“Moving it an hour away to save them a little dignity doesn’t seem like a big ask,� Tripi told U.S. District Judge Lawrence Vilardo.

When Vilardo asked Tripi to cite any previous case in which a change of venue was granted over the objections of defendants, the prosecutor did not cite one.

“Tell me why I should be the first to do this,� Vilardo replied.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office describes the prosecution against the two as “an extraordinary case.�

Federal authorities have accused Gerace of bribing Joseph Bongiovanni, at the time a Drug Enforcement Administration agent, and conspiring to engage in drug trafficking and human trafficking at Pharaoh’s. Gerace’s charges include maintaining Pharaoh’s as a drug-involved premises where vulnerable young women were exploited through their drug addictions and coerced into engaging in commercial sex acts with him, his friends and associates.

Prosecutors have charged the now-retired Bongiovanni with accepting $250,000 in bribes from drug dealers whom he thought were associated with Italian organized crime and shielding them from arrest, as well as providing them with information about investigations and cooperating sources.

Both have pleaded not guilty. Their trial is scheduled to begin in January.

The case marks the first time in Western New York that a DEA special agent has been charged with bribery and corruption for allegedly accepting protection bribes from drug dealers and organized crime members and associates, according to a court filing from prosecutors. Prosecutors anticipate their evidence will establish the criminal activity at Pharaoh’s persisted, in part, because of protection Bongiovanni provided in exchange for bribes. The alleged crimes were “integrally related with Gerace’s connections with certain high-profile individuals, attorneys, other members or law enforcement, the judiciary, and others in the Buffalo area,� according to the court filing.

Vilardo acknowledged the high-profile nature of the case.

“This case is different,� Vilardo said. “I’m not denying the change of venue motion because I think this is a run-of-the-mill case.�

All of the court proceedings since the case began in 2019 have been held at the federal courthouse in Buffalo.

Lawyers for both defendants argued against moving the trial to Rochester, saying their clients could get a fair trial in Buffalo.

“The government’s conclusion that the trial will be a media circus is premature and speculative,� said Bongiovanni’s lawyers, Robert C. Singer and Parker R. MacKay, in a court filing.

The defense lawyers also objected to prosecutors describing media coverage of the trial as “revictimizing� the witnesses.

“Simply because the press, like the defendants, is investigating these claims, challenging the claims when appropriate, and reporting on what happens in a public trial does not constitute revictimization,� MacKay and Singer said in a court filing. “The press has a right to do this under the First Amendment. The trial is a public proceeding under the Sixth Amendment. If prosecutors and the Department of Justice suddenly dislike these constitutional mandates, then their disdain carries no significance whatsoever – that is the law and our system of justice.�

Gerace’s defense lawyers, Mark Foti and Eric Soehnlein, called the change-of-venue request “a thinly veiled attempt to make the trial more challenging for the defendants and to hinder the defendants’ ability to effectively present a defense case.�

“As the court knows, Mr. Gerace and his family reside in Buffalo. Counsel to Mr. Gerace reside in Buffalo, have familial considerations and other professional considerations, and have prepared to try this case in Buffalo,� Soehnlein and Foti said. “The witnesses, including the witnesses Mr. Gerace intends to call in the defense case, reside in Buffalo. The facts and circumstances giving rise to this prosecution, including the location of Mr. Gerace’s business, are in Buffalo. And four years ago, the government chose to bring these charges in Buffalo.�

The defense lawyers said they are also concerned about pretrial publicity and the challenges that brings to a trial, but Foti said “the right decision is to keep it here in Buffalo.�

Besides, the Buffalo media will still continue to cover the case, the defense lawyers said.

“Moving the trial to Rochester does nothing to address the government’s concerns but only prejudices the defendants,� Foti and Soehnlein said in court papers.

Prosecutors said they understand the media has a First Amendment right to cover this case.

The government “also has an obligation to point out the obvious – that the continuous reporting about every development in this case has the potential to endanger victims and witnesses,� prosecutors said in their court filing.

Since January 2023, when the government began producing evidence to the defense, acts of witness tampering have increased, prosecutors said.

Prosecutors have provided evidence and most of the names of its witnesses to the defense.

A dead rat was placed in the driveway of a relative of one individual expected to testify, and in a second incident involving dead rats, one was placed at a residence associated with a potential government witness, according to prosecutors.

“At multiple detention hearings, the government has asserted that a witness poised to testify against Mr. Gerace had dead rats placed in proximity to her,� Soehnlein and Foti said. “The government’s bombastic assertion is just that, however. Despite fulsome government investigation, there has never been any link between Mr. Gerace and the alleged dead rats. There have been no charges stemming from the allegation, and defense counsel has not received or reviewed any testimony or other evidence that supports the assertion. The government’s story is unsupported by hard evidence, but it has repeatedly made and amplified the allegation in public filings and open court as a means to spin its narrative in this case.�