FBI Raids Home Of Buffalo Judge Who Stepped In Front Of Train

The Buffalo judge who stepped in front of a train is now under investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and several other agencies. The home he shares with his wife was raided on Thursday, March 24, 2022. Along with the FBI, Amherst Police, and officials with the New York Attorney General's Office were seizing items from the home of acting Supreme Court Justice John Michalski. His attorney, Terry Connors, confirmed that authorities were executing a search warrant, telling WIVB,

Both the judge and his wife cooperated fully in connection with that search warrant.

On February 28, 2021, Michalski stepped onto a train track and lay down. He was hit by the train and suffered a serious leg injury. Train-watchers captured video of the incident.

The Buffalo News reported that the feds were investigating the judge's relationship with Peter G. Gerace Jr., the owner of Pharaoh’s Gentlemen’s Club in Cheektowaga, who is described as a family friend. Gerace has been charged with a number of crimes, including the distribution of drugs and conspiracy to commit sex trafficking. He also allegedly paid bribes to Joseph Bongiovanni a former disgraced agent with the Drug Enforcement Administration.

The U.S. Attorney's Office has charged Gerace and Bongiovanni with conspiracy to distribute controlled substances and defraud the United States. Bongiovanni allegedly received $250,000 in bribes during eight years of his work as a DEA agent. Bongiovanni is believed to have connections to Italian organized crime in Western New York.

This bizarre case seems like it is made for TV. I can definitely see a true crime network buying the rights to this story and making a limited series out of it.