NY Supreme Court Judge Kills Himself After Feds Raid His Home

A New York Supreme Court Judge committed suicide just weeks after federal agents raided his home.

John Michalski a Supreme Court Judge in Erie County was found dead by suicide just 12 days after investigators conducted a search warrant at his home.

A year earlier Michalski allegedly attempted to commit suicide by standing in front of a train but he survived the incident.

Around the same time, Judge Michalski attempted suicide for the first time, he was under investigation for his friendship with Peter Gerace Jr a strip club owner who was being charged with sex trafficking and felony drug charges.

John Michalski, a respected New York State judge, died by suicide on Tuesday, one of his lawyers said. Investigators raided his home last month amid scrutiny of his ties to a former client. He had denied any impropriety. https://t.co/X2CtAA2kMK

— The New York Times (@nytimes) April 6, 2022

John Michalski's suicide comes a year after he was struck by a freight train in what was believed to have been another suicide attempt https://t.co/9IxrduffKh

— The Daily Beast (@thedailybeast) April 6, 2022

The New York Post had more on the story:

A veteran New York state judge killed himself less than two weeks after his home was raided by investigators, according to one of his attorneys.

John Michalski, an acting justice on the Erie County Supreme Court, died by suicide Tuesday at his Amherst home, where federal and state law enforcement officers had executed a search warrant 12 days earlier, the Buffalo News reported. He was 61.

“It’s heartbreaking,” defense attorney Terrence Connors told the newspaper. “He was such a good guy. This just didn’t have to happen.”

Michalski, who was appointed to the New York Court of Claims, and as an acting Supreme Court justice in 2006, had been eyed by investigators for years, but no criminal charges were ever filed against him. His looming legal woes seemed to be “manageable,” Connors told the newspaper.

The judge’s death came a little over a year after he was struck by a slow-moving freight train in Depew, in what was believed to be a suicide attempt. He suffered a serious leg injury, but survived.

Days after the February 2021 incident, Michalski was questioned by federal agents about his friendship with Peter Gerace Jr., the owner of a strip club in Cheektowaga and a former client, the Buffalo News reported.

Michalski was injured by the freight train on the same day Gerace was charged with several felonies, including drug and sex trafficking, as well as bribing a federal agent. Gerace denies the allegations, according to the newspaper.

Judge John Michalski committed suicide after raid The former wife of an indicted gentlemen's club owner talks about her ex and his friend the State Supreme Court judge. https://t.co/NUh5dDyAs1

— Material World (@materia1wor1d) April 7, 2022

The Daily Mail reported the scoop too:

A New York Supreme Court justice killed himself days after cops raided his house as his ‘really close’ friend – the nephew of Buffalo’s alleged top mob boss – faced federal charges of sex trafficking and bribery.

John L. Michalski, 61, was found dead at his home near Buffalo Tuesday morning, his lawyer says. The circumstances of his death remain unclear.

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Authorities raided Michalski’s home on March 24. Law enforcement sources told The Buffalo News they were looking for evidence of tax crimes and that various other state agencies were looking into his professional and personal conduct.

Michalski tried to kill himself February 2021 by lying on train tracks in the middle of the night. He was hit by a freight train but survived with a serious leg injury.

That suicide attempt was the same day his friend, strip club owner Peter Gerace Jr., was arrested in Florida on charges including conspiracy to commit sex trafficking, maintaining a drug involved premise and bribing a federal drug enforcement agent.

Michalski knew Gerace for decades and had done legal work for him. In 2006, he wrote a letter to a federal judge asking for a lower sentence after Gerace was convicted of wire fraud in connection with a telemarketing sweepstakes business.

Just a few months earlier a Judge from Maryland killed himself after the FBI was about to arrest him for sexual exploring children:

Maryland judge kills himself as feds arrive at door to arrest him for sexually exploiting children | Daily Mail Online https://t.co/ix2KgEwLif

— ⚡️THOR⚡️ the Deplorable 🇺🇸 (@ThorDeplorable) September 11, 2021