Judge hesitates to further restrict interviews with Gerace

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) -- In federal court Thursday, the government's efforts to silence convicted strip club owner Peter Gerace hit a brick wall.

U.S. District Court Judge Lawrence Vilardo declined to hold Gerace in criminal contempt at the behest of federal prosecutors for phone interviews with media entities, including News 4 Investigates.

The judge said he did not believe Gerace willfully and knowingly violated his March order, which he said put restrictions on in-person media interviews.

"It's not my intention to gag him from talking to the media," Vilardo said.

Vilardo said while his order may be ambiguous, his intention was to require reporters to follow the U.S. Marshals Service policy by getting permission from five people, but only for in-person jailhouse interviews with Gerace.

Restricting telephone interviews "certainly did not cross my mind," he said. But Vilardo has not completely closed the door on the issue.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Casey Chalbeck argued the U.S. Marshals policy is not limited to in-person interviews but all forms of interviews.

She said the publicity could give Gerace "celebrity status" in jail, sparking safety concerns.

"It goes to an institutional security concern," Chalbeck said.

Other concerns Chalbeck raised were that Gerace could violate a protective order by discussing sensitive elements of his case and use the media to attack prosecutors and “threaten or harass victims, witnesses, or others involved in the case.”

Vilardo gave prosecutors an additional month to present "very strong" evidence for why the "celebrity status" argument is a real concern for jail administrators or the U.S. Marshals Service.

Or is it "something the government concocted to shut Mr. Gerace up" from publicly criticizing prosecutors?

"That's a little scary to me," Vilardo said.

Gerace's decision not to testify at his trial is now one he said he regrets.

In December, the jury took less than a week to convict him on eight of nine charges, including drug and sex trafficking. Gerace faces life in prison when sentenced Aug. 15.

The week following his conviction, Gerace sought in-person jailhouse interviews to "tell (his) side of the story."

That's when the government thwarted an attempt by News 4 Investigates to interview Gerace in jail by securing a temporary order from Vilardo that specifically halted "in-person" interviews at the Chautauqua County jail.

Vilardo's final order in March did not specify whether reporters needed to follow the U.S. Marshals policy for all forms of interviews, such as over the phone.

As a result, Gerace contacted reporters from jail on a Saturday in March to be interviewed over the phone.

His interviews with News 4 Investigates included criticism of prosecutors for what he described as "malicious prosecution and prosecutorial misconduct."

Gerace also protested the testimony of an ex-wife, Katrina Nigro, and some of the former exotic dancers, who he said perjured themselves over and over again.

Nigro told News 4 Investigates that she did not lie in her testimony.

Prosecutors then filed a motion to hold Gerace in criminal contempt for violating the judge's order by failing to secure permission to do the phone interviews.

On Thursday, Vilardo told prosecutors he was reluctant to further restrict Gerace's First Amendment right to free speech.

Eric Soehnlein, one of Gerace's attorneys, said it would have been helpful if a representative of the U.S. Marshals Service could articulate the purpose of the policy. He said it remains unclear whether the policy requires permission for all forms of interviews.

Gerace's attorneys have argued that restricting face-to-face interviews does not violate Gerace's right to free speech, as long as "alternative channels of communication" remain open and "the restriction operates in a neutral fashion without regard to the content of the expression."

Based on the schedule Vilardo set for arguments, a decision may not be made until sometime in June.