AMHERST, N.Y. (WKBW) — Investigators from multiple agencies converged on the home of New York State Supreme Court Judge John Michalski on Hunters Lane in Amherst on Thursday morning.
Terry Connors, attorney for Judge Michalski, confirmed to 7 News that a search warrant was executed at the home, and that Michalski and his wife were cooperating with authorities.
Michalski has not been taken into custody and investigators have not announced any charges against him or in connection to the search warrant.
Representatives from the FBI, New York State Police, Amherst Police Department and New York State Attorney General's Office are involved, but it is unclear in what capacity each agency is participating.
Michalski returned to the benchfor the first time in nearly a year in January. He was reinstated following a medical leave. Michalski was injured in an incident involving a train in February 2021. He was hospitalized for more than a week with a dislocated kneecap.
The following month, in March 2021, 7 News learned that federal authorities had called Michalski to look into his decades-long friendship with Peter Gerace.
Gerace, owner of Pharoah's Gentlemen's Club in Cheektowaga, was arrested on federal charges related to drugs, bribery and sex trafficking. The incident involving the train in which Michalski was injured happened on the same day.
7 News has reached out to authorities involved in the execution of the search warrant and are awaiting further information. It is unclear as of Thursday morning whether the search warrant has any connection to the previous call made by federal authorities in 2021.
In response to the search warrant, the New York Unified Court System issued the following statement:
We are aware of the ongoing law enforcement action and at this point are monitoring the situation.
On Friday, the court system announced Judge Michalski's cases were being reassigned to other judges:
Effective this morning all pending judicial matters in front of Judge Michalski have been reassigned. We are monitoring the situation regarding the law enforcement activity at the judge’s home yesterday should any further action become necessary.
