During Peter Gerace’s continuing trial for drug and sex trafficking, key testimony was provided by his former spouse, Katrina Nigro. Gerace, the proprietor of the infamous club Pharaoh’s, is facing serious allegations. Nigro, who was employed at the club for seven years in a dual role of merchandising lingerie and managing finances, gave damning evidence of pervasive drug misuse and prostitution within the establishment.
The government indictment puts forward that Gerace manipulated Pharaoh’s into a drug-involved enterprise. Allegedly, he provided narcotics to strippers, subsequently exploiting their dependencies to force them into engaging in intimate acts with high-spending clients and acquaintances.
Nigro’s collaboration with the FBI began in a rather sudden fashion in late 2019, simply days following the club’s raid, an event which would eventually lead to Gerace’s formal charges. She shared striking details of how her ex-husband threatened to sever her extremities, specifically her toes and fingers.
Part of Nigro’s testimony included the unveiling of their peculiar marriage ceremony, conducted stealthily without any attendees. The officiator was none other than the now-departed ex-New York State Supreme Justice John Michalski, a frequenter of Pharaoh’s and Gerace’s close ally.
She further expounded on Michalski’s involvement at Pharaoh’s and his tragic fate. He was among the participants who engaged in exclusive parties held in an upstairs room of the club – a space where drugs and sex were swapped. Michalski took his own life after Gerace’s incarceration, following a raid on his own residence by federal agents.
Nigro’s testimony, scheduled to continue the following week, included an instance when Gerace compensated her legal counsel in an unconventional manner. He allegedly paid a lawyer he had engaged to represent her in a DUI case, not with money, but with narcotics and the sexual favors of a stripper grappling with addiction.
Testimony was given by Nigro describing distressing incidents at Pharaoh’s. She stated that she bore witness to eight dancers suffering overdoses within the establishment. She took immediate action to save two of them by administering the opioid antagonist, Narcan.
Nigro hinted at the involvement of local politicians and certain Buffalo Sabres athletes in Pharaoh’s dark underbelly affairs of sex and drug misuse. However, she refrained from revealing any names during her time on the stand.
Also mentioned in her testimony was actor Lillo Brancato, a guest at one of those upstairs drug and sex parties. The occurrence reportedly took place sometime around 2014, following his stint in prison.
The extent of the nefarious activities that allegedly transpired in the club under Gerace’s reign is gradually coming to light thanks to Nigro’s testimony. The trial continues to uncover an intricate network of drug abuse, illicit sex, and trafficking, with high-profile personalities seemingly involved.
Pharaoh’s, once a popular ‘gentlemen’s club’, has been depicted in court as a hive of drug abuse and sexual exploitation. Peter Gerace is at the center of these austere allegations, while his ex-wife’s current testimony paints a chilling picture of the criminal activities she claims took place.
The case against Gerace is a stark reminder of the dark potentials of misuse of power and authority. Nigro’s testimonies have given a glimpse into a sordid underworld of drugs, sex, and coercion, implicating not just her ex-husband but some of the city’s influential figures.
As the trial progresses, the full extent of Gerace’s alleged wrongdoing faces more scrutiny. As the key witness, Nigro’s continued testimony is integral to casting light on the depth of the grim activities intertwined between the glitz and glamour of Pharaoh’s strip club.