Luke Wenke sent this letter to the federal Pro Se Assistance Program, which provides legal advice to financially eligible pro se litigants who want to file a lawsuit, have already filed a lawsuit, or are being sued. He expresses an interest in suing multiple individuals and entities for perceived injustices that he believes he and certain people in his life have suffered.
Luke Wenke’s Newest Fixation: Embattled Strip Club Owner Peter Gerace
In the letter, Wenke fixates on Western New York businessman Peter Gerace (Wenke misspells it “Grazi”), who owns the now-shuttered Pharaoh’s Gentlemen’s Club in Cheektowaga, New York.
In late 2024, a federal jury found Gerace guilty of eight charges including drug conspiracy, bribery, sex trafficking, and the use of his business in relation to his crimes. Describing Pharaoh’s as a “drug-ridden brothel,” prosecutors alleged that he used his position of power to feed young women’s drug addictions and coerce them into sexual acts with himself, wealthy customers, and others. Gerace was also accused of allowing dealers to sell cocaine and other drugs inside the club because it caused customers to drink more alcohol, thereby increasing his profits.
Federal authorities claimed that Gerace’s illicit activities spanned at least a decade, while Gerace insists that he ran a “good, clean club.” He has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing during news interviews and continues to maintain his innocence despite his convictions, claiming that federal prosecutors targeted him with false testimony from former exotic dancers.
Gerace Is Also Accused of Conspiring to Murder a Witness
As prosecutors prepared for Peter Gerace’s original trial, they planned to rely on key testimony from former exotic dancer Crystal Quinn. But that never happened because the young woman died from an apparent drug overdose in August of 2023 after agreeing to testify against Gerace.
Quinn reportedly struggled with drug addiction, but the authorities do not believe her death was accidental or a suicide. She passed away at the Wellsville home of Simon Gogolack, who stands accused of conspiring with Gerace and several others to kill Quinn to prevent her from testifying. Longtime Pharaoh’s manager and purported Outlaws Motorcycle Club leader John Ermin is also charged in connection with Quinn’s death.
In the meantime, Gerace is appealing his convictions while fighting the new batch of charges he faces. He claims that Quinn committed suicide after the U.S. government bullied her into agreeing to testify. Quinn’s family disagreed, citing text messages that Crystal sent shortly before her death indicating that she feared for her safety and believed she was being set up.
Luke Wenke Appears to Sympathize With Peter Gerace
In keeping with his bizarre tendency to advocate for and defend predators and degenerates, Luke Wenke takes a seemingly sympathetic tone toward Peter Gerace in the letter below. Wenke accuses the court of being “dehumanizing” toward Gerace, and his word salad continues with a claim that federal judge Richard Arcara is under investigation for sleeping during court hearings.
Wenke goes on to ask the Pro Se Assistance Program for help filing numerous lawsuits while requesting any paperwork relevant to the process to be mailed to his mother’s house. He expresses a desire to sue over allegations of forged paperwork pertaining to his case, along with his belief that the federal courthouse in Buffalo is sexist against women. (That’s pretty rich, coming from someone who was called out on a Facebook thread for allegedly making a rape joke in early 2019.)
Additionally, Luke Wenke states his intention to sue the federal court for voter suppression for refusing to let him vote from jail in the 2024 U.S. presidential election. Furthermore, he accuses the city of Olean of dumping toxic waste into the Allegheny River, accuses a corrections officer of helping an inmate smuggle cocaine into the Niagara County Jail, and threatens to get corrections officers fired if they cooperate with any future transfers to another facility.
USA v. Luke Wenke – Doc. #198
May 2nd, 2025
CASE #1:22-cr-00035, DOCKET ENTRY #198
To read a “transcribed” version of this letter, scroll past the PDF viewer. 🙂
Luke Wenke Letter to the Court #198Luke Wenke #198 – Page 1
“The Pro Se Litigation Unit at the Robert H. Jackson U.S. Courthouse has absolutely heard from me before and responded to me before. I do not know who at the Pro Se Litigation Unit reads these but I am aware of how tense are things these days up here given Judge Richard Arcara’s investigation against him concerning sleeping during trials, and Peter Grazi’s dehumanizing gag order.
“Whatever paperwork is needed to pursue lawsuits, please send it to my mother Janet McCaul at [address], [town] NY [zip code]. Her phone number is [phone number]. I recall a year ago receiving an information packet from the Pro Se Litigation Unit. If that could be included too it would be appreciated.
“Nothing is official until that paperwork is filed as I’m aware people in my present situation have 3 strikes and then they’re out. The lawsuits I’m after are over forged paperwork concerns from John L. Sinatra Jr.’s courtroom as Frank Passafiume can verify that a recent court decision was made concerning me without anybody present. The second being my concern that the Robert H. Jackson U.S. Courthouse has a sexism issue against women due to the extraordinary amount of testosterone holding everyone captive at that building right now. There are other reasons to sue such as my mother’s boyfriend [name] suing [entity] for [reason], and my mother’s share of her late brother’s estate taking forever due to conflicts of interest. Might I also add I wanted an absentee ballot for the 2024 election, I made it known, and I’m calling it voter suppression. Anybody could be suing the city of Olean right now for it’s throwing of toxic waste into the Allegheny River which goes down to the Mississippi.
I recently received legal mail from Jay Ovsiovitch and US Appeals Judge Debra Ann Livingston concerning my motion to Appeal as Frank Passafiume can also confirm.”
Luke Wenke #198 – Page 2
“I think it is unusual to have an officer hand us legal mail directly right at our room’s doors (I am in P2-33) as it’s a violation of attorney client privileges. I recently caught the person formerly in P2-36 getting in cocaine with an officer’s help. I have stated that if I am illegally moved out of this facility due to forged and edited paperwork reasons I will sue and get cooperating officers fired. It is for these reasons that I ask you to send all of my requested paperwork material to my mother at the address I mentioned earlier.
“Thank you for everything,
“-Luke Wenke
“PS – please consider my opinion that federal probation shoves everyone back in jail no matter what and thereby cramming the court calendars. Deflect any potential presidential administration defunding of the courts-efforts towards probation. We need the Pro Se courts. I have Allegany/Limestone alumni lawyer Paul Petruzzi’s attention as it is.”
Categories: Court documents: letters, drugs, [alleged] false allegations: forgery, falsifying records, voter suppression; letter writing obsession, threats: job loss, threats to sue
Tags: Buffalo, NY; Cattaraugus County, Cheektowaga, NY; Cocaine; Lockport, NY; Niagara County Jail; Olean, NY; Peter Gerace, Pharaoh’s