I-Team: Is strip club raid a sign of Buffalo Mafia resurgence?
Crimes north of Canadian border alleged
WKBW Buffalo
Dec. 17
by Charlie Specht

"Last month, federal prosecutors indicted former DEA agent Joseph Bongiovanni for allegedly accepting bribes from criminals with ties to what they called “Italian organized crime.”

Last week, the feds followed up with a raid at Pharaoh’s Gentleman’s Club in Cheektowaga. The strip club is operated by Peter Gerace, who is related to the Todaro family that the FBI accused decades ago of running the Buffalo mob (the Todaros denied the charges).

But documents obtained by the 7 Eyewitness News I-Team show these recent developments are part of a wider federal investigation into the possible re-emergence of organized crime in Buffalo."

SNIP

"“You've got a reemergence because there's so much profit to be made north of the Border,” Manning said.

Manning has direct knowledge of mafia efforts to infiltrate law enforcement. As a police officer, he went undercover in the mob, an experience that nearly cost him his life . He said he was betrayed by crooked Hamilton officers and nearly killed by a mob hit. He is now suing the Hamilton government.

The allegations against Bongiovanni, the former DEA agent, follow the same pattern, and the I-Team has learned that Bongiovanni is not the only police officer suspected of breaking the law.

“It also confirms that we do have a problem with law enforcement working for the other side,” Manning said."

Link to the article

https://www.wkbw.com/news/i-team/i-team-is-strip-club-raid-a-sign-of-buffalo-mafia-resurgence