BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) -- U.S. District Court Judge Lawrence Vilardo said in court today he initially had concerns with a juror's post-trial comments made during an interview by a local television station, in which he criticized the defense strategy in last year's trial for Pharaoh's strip club owner Peter Gerace.

However, Vilardo had a different take after reading the interview transcripts again.

In December 2024, the jury convicted Gerace on eight crimes, including drug and sex trafficking.

Three months after the verdict, the juror said during the interview that he was "shocked" that Gerace's attorneys, Mark Foti and Eric Soehnlein, had no witnesses testifying to counter the government's evidence. He said the decision was "borderline incompetent."

“Show me 10 or 15 or 20 or 30 dancers

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