Pharaohs owner Peter Gerace sentenced to 25 years for sex trafficking bribery and witness tampering

BUFFALO, N.Y. — Peter Gerace, 59, the owner of the Pharaohs Gentlemen’s Club in Cheektowaga, received a 25-year prison sentence on May 13, 2026, in U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York after a jury convicted him on six federal counts.

U.S. Attorney Michael DiGiacomo announced the sentence handed down by U.S. District Judge Lawrence J. Vilardo. The convictions covered conspiracy to commit sex trafficking, drug trafficking and defrauding the United States, plus witness tampering, maintaining a drug-involved premises and bribing a public official.

The case directly affects employees, dancers and patrons of Pharaohs, a licensed adult entertainment venue that operated for years under Gerace’s control. Federal prosecutors presented evidence that the club served as the hub for the sex-trafficking conspiracy, with drugs distributed on premises and at least one public official paid bribes to protect the operation.

Exact victim counts and bribe amounts were not detailed in the sentencing announcement.

The sentence shifts Gerace from pretrial status to immediate federal incarceration. He will serve 25 years in prison followed by supervised release. The conviction automatically triggers forfeiture of assets tied to the club and the conspiracy. New York state gaming and liquor regulators must now decide whether to revoke or transfer the club’s licenses, a process that begins once the judgment is entered.

Downstream, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of New York will pursue any remaining co-conspirators and seize linked property. Federal prison authorities will classify Gerace under Bureau of Prisons guidelines that place sex-trafficking offenders in higher-security facilities.

New York’s Division of Criminal Justice Services and the state liquor authority face deadlines to align their administrative actions with the federal judgment, typically within 30 to 90 days of final sentencing.

This marks the culmination of a multi-year federal investigation into commercial sex trafficking tied to Western New York nightlife venues. The Department of Justice has pursued similar cases against club owners in other districts, often combining human-trafficking charges with public-corruption counts to dismantle protective networks.