Club manager faces claims
Prosecutor: Shenanigans customers were targeted
ALBANY — Deep-pocketed customers at Shenanigans strip club in Colonie were targeted as “prospects” to be secretly drugged, ripped off and filmed engaging in sex acts, a federal prosecutor told a judge Monday in an effort to keep a club manager detained on drug charges.
“Men would go into Shenanigans as customers and leave as victims,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan Reiner told U.S. Magistrate Judge Christian Hummel at the detention hearing for the defendant, Luiggi Canessa.
Canessa, 46, the general manager of Shenanigans and adjoining Sheer Pleasure Lingerie business, both on Central Avenue, reportedly boasted he had ties to local law enforcement. And he kept an “enemies list” on his smartphone that included the lead investigator into the case against him, Reiner told the judge.
“He has the ability and the inclination to intimidate people who are his enemies,” the prosecutor said of Canessa.
On Feb. 13, an informant wearing an audio and video recording device reportedly arranged to buy more than 5 grams of methamphetamine, a powerful stimulant known as meth, from Canessa. She then went to Canessa’s home. He met the woman, went into his residence and returned to provide her with the drugs, an FBI agent wrote in an affidavit as part of a criminal complaint April 9, when Canessa was arrested.
The agent said he had seen surveillance footage showing that Canessa engaged in numerous similar drug deals. The agent said the FBI had been investigating a wide array of crime at the locations, including drug trafficking, sex trafficking and wire fraud. Canessa is charged with knowingly and intentionally selling more than 5 grams of pure methamphetamine. The charge carries 5 to 40 years in federal pris
on upon conviction, but that number could be significantly lower under federal sentencing guidelines.
On Monday, Canessa wore an orange jail outfit in court as Reiner told the judge that no set of circumstances would keep Canessa — now being held in the Albany County jail — from posing a risk of flight or danger to the community, if he was released. The prosecutor said investigators seized four guns from Canessa’s home, three of which came from the states of Florida, North Carolina and Texas. The guns were found near drugs that included cocaine and 1,000 pills of ecstasy. Police also seized $41,000 in cash, he said.
The prosecutor said under Canessa’s direction, the club targeted wealthy customers as “prospects” to be ripped off. He said workers surreptitiously drugged the customers, many of whom passed out, then bilked their credit cards without their permission at times for amounts that sometimes exceeded $10,000. He said Canessa kept photos of surveillance videos on his phone of customers engaging in sex acts with the dancers.
Canessa is currently only facing the drug charge.
A worker paid Canessa through a mobile payment service, such as Venmo or Cash App, and listed on the payment: “I love you, big daddy.” Another worker stated: “Love you long time,” Reiner said. He said Canessa identified a section of his phone with the words “Strip Club Escorts” under the category of “Sidehustles.”
Reiner said Canessa’s mobile payment transfers showed he took in $250,000 and paid out $110,000 over the last two years.
The prosecutor said Canessa faces a minimum of five years in federal prison, but suggested the defendant could face at least 10 years if convicted of the drug charge and a potential charge of possessing a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking.
Assistant Federal Public Defender Jeremy Sporn, who is representing Canessa, downplayed the prosecution’s concerns over witness intimidation and an alleged enemies list.
“This is the kind of thing where there are axes to grind in this world,” Sporn said. “There are people who rub people the wrong way, so to speak.”
He asked the judge to focus on the drug charge, which he said was his client’s first offense. He noted that Canessa, formerly of Manhattan, who has a master’s degree in business administration, was accused of selling a relatively small amount of drugs in his view. Sporn suggested that happenings in any strip club, if placed under a microscope, might raise eyebrows. He said it was no secret that such clubs want customers to spend money.
“It’s more a picture of down and out in Colonie than some of the more salacious aspects,” the defense attorney said. “I think there’s certainly a different story to tell here.”
Shenanigan’s owner, Robert J. Savoca, a former Albany police officer, previously expressed surprise at the charges facing Canessa. He said he understood “all the craziness” in the criminal complaint was at Canessa’s residence, not the business.
The judge Monday suggested to Canessa that he could be electronically monitored, but expressed concern Canessa’s home was close to the strip club.
“Does he have some place to live other than next to Shenanigans?” Hummel asked.
Sporn said he would need a few days to find a place, which would then need to be approved by federal pretrial services officials.
The judge adjourned hearing the conclusion of the detention hearing until Thursday. Canessa will remain in the Albany County jail.