A Southern Tier man with a history of drug-related charges has become entangled in the FBI’s probe into the death of a government witness in the Pharaoh’s strip club case.
Simon P. Gogolack, 39, of Wellsville, was taken back to the Niagara County Jail after a brief appearance in federal court Wednesday afternoon.
According to court papers, Gogolack was arrested earlier this month on drug and firearms charges as part of the FBI investigation into the death of Crystal Quinn, 37, of Lancaster. Quinn died on Aug. 1 in a Wellsville home owned by Gogolack, and Gogolack found her body.
None of the charges against Gogolack accuse him of causing Quinn’s death, but a sworn statement from an FBI agent says Gogolack admitted giving two drugs to the woman before she died.
A former exotic dancer, house cleaner and collections worker, in the upcoming trial of , a strip club owner accused of drug trafficking, sex trafficking and paying bribes to a federal DEA agent.
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Robert J. Bolm, Gogolack’s attorney, said he believes “the feds†are trying to blame his client and perhaps Gerace for the woman’s death.
“I believe that what we have here is an accidental overdose of a woman who was under tremendous pressure from the FBI. It’s a tragic situation, and the FBI is trying to make something more of it,†Bolm told a Buffalo ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ reporter at the courthouse.
“It’s never a good thing to wake up next to a dead woman, and that’s the situation my client is in,†Bolm added.
The U.S. Attorney’s office declined to comment on Bolm’s remarks.
The cause of Quinn’s death is under investigation by Wellsville police and the Allegany County coroner’s office. Dylan Foust, a county coroner, told The ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ late Wednesday that authorities are still waiting for the results of toxicology tests taken after Quinn’s death.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Jeremiah J. McCarthy planned to hold a detention hearing on Wednesday to determine if Gogolack should be kept in jail until his trial. But the judge postponed the session after Gogolack’s attorney said he needs more time to evaluate information given to him by prosecutors.
That information included a criminal complaint signed on Aug. 17 by Anthony J. Butera, an FBI agent who specializes in public corruption crimes, accusing Gogolack of four felonies – maintaining a drug-involved premises, being a user of a controlled substance in possession of guns and ammunition, being a felon in possession of firearms and ammunition, and possessing guns in furtherance of drug trafficking.
Those crimes took place between early July and Aug. 9, and “the investigation is ongoing,†Butera said in the complaint.
Butera said Wellsville police found the body of “the decedant†in Gogolack’s home after Gogolack called 911.
“Possible overdose ... he tried Narcan,†Gogolack indicated in his call to 911, according to Butera’s complaint.
Police who went to the home found that Gogolack was acting in an erratic manner and appeared to be under the influence of methamphetamine, the FBI agent stated.
According to Butera’s criminal complaint, Gogolack admitted to the FBI that he gave the woman who died in his home some “homemade hash†and a “Xanax bar†before she became unconscious.
Federal officials have not publicly identified the deceased witness, but Quinn’s family identified her as Quinn, a longtime friend and former employee of Gerace.
Quinn’s mother, Sharon Quinn, told The ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ her daughter was upset over to testify against Gerace, whom she considered a dear friend.
Gogolack was arrested on traffic charges by Depew Police on Aug. 2 while attempting to deliver the dead woman’s car to her family, court papers stated.
FBI agents seized Gogolack’s cellphone that day. Butera said evidence taken from the phone indicates that Gogolack is “a narcotics and firearms dealer.â€
On Aug. 8, dozens of with a court-authorized search warrant. Small quantities of several drugs, body armor, a shotgun, parts of a semiautomatic rifle and 150 rounds of ammunition were recovered from the home, prosecutors said.
The FBI said Gogolack has been arrested four times in the past on drug-related charges.
Gogolack was sentenced to five years on probation in 2007 after a felony conviction for selling drugs. His probation was later revoked due to another drug arrest, and he was sent to prison for a year, the FBI agent said.
Gogolack’s arrest by the FBI is the latest twist in the case involving Gerace and Joseph Bongiovanni, a former U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agent accused of taking bribes from Gerace and enabling him to deal drugs. Both men have pleaded not guilty. They are scheduled for trial in October.
Quinn is the second potential witness in the case who has died.
State Supreme Court Judge , a longtime friend of Gerace’s who had been approached for questioning by the FBI, committed suicide in his Amherst home in April 2022, 12 days after there.
Quinn had been arrested earlier this year on witness tampering charges, after she reportedly threatened a witness against Gerace. The charges were dropped after she agreed to testify as a prosecution witness in Gerace’s upcoming trial.
Gerace’s attorneys have said he has been unfairly targeted by Tripi and the FBI. They said he installed surveillance cameras and took other steps to prevent any illegal activities at his business, Pharaoh’s Gentlemen’s Club in Cheektowaga.
But prosecutor Joseph M. Tripi, speaking in court earlier this month, said Gerace has employed members of a biker gang at Pharaoh’s as part of an effort to intimidate “vulnerable young ladies†who will be called to testify at Gerace’s trial.
Gerace has also described himself as “untouchable†because of his “law enforcement and judicial contacts†and because of his reported connections with “the Mafia,†Tripi said on Aug. 17.
Gerace has denied being involved in organized crime.