A former Manhattan man committed shady pranks at the Albany strip club he owned, drugging customers, charging thousands of dollars on their cards and filming himself having sex with dancers. accused of suspicion.
The charges against Luigi Canessa, 46, who ran Shenanigans Gentlemen’s Club, came after he was arrested in February for selling more than 5 grams of pure methamphetamine to an FBI informant. . The Times Union reported.
“Men will enter Shenanigans as customers and leave as victims,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan Reiner said at a detention hearing for Canessa, who is facing federal drug charges in the case.
Workers secretly drug customers, Reiner said he swiped his credit card and paid up to $10,000 while he was unconscious.
When investigators arrested Canessa on April 9, they seized four guns and found cocaine, 1,000 ecstasy pills and $41,000 in cash in Canessa’s home, Reiner said.
He admitted selling methamphetamine, cocaine, marijuana and MDMA from his home. According to News10 ABC.
Reiner added that Canessa, who also owned a lingerie shop next door, underreported her income by more than 500 percent, telling her probation officer that she was only making $3,000 a month between two jobs.
Canessa’s lawyer downplayed the allegations, along with concerns about his client’s supposed “enemy list” and alleged history of blackmail.
During the hearing, Public Defender Jeremy Spohn said any incident at a strip club would “raise some eyebrows” under the microscope.
Rather, it is a story of the “decline” of a colony town.
“I think there’s definitely a different story to tell here,” Spohn added.
On Thursday, a judge agreed that Canessa is a flight risk and ruled in favor of keeping him in Albany County Jail ahead of trial.
The FBI has been investigating a “wide range of crimes” since last year, including drug and sex trafficking and wire fraud, according to a criminal complaint.
If Canessa is convicted, he could be sentenced to up to 40 years in prison. Before moving to the Capital Region, Canessa lived in Fort George, Manhattan, according to public records.
