A former Manhattan man is accused of some shady shenanigans at the Albany strip club he managed, including drugging customers, charging thousands of dollars to their cards and filming them engaging in sex acts with dancers.
The allegations against Luiggi Canessa, 46, who managed Shenanigans Gentlemen’s Club, came after he was busted for selling over 5 grams of pure methamphetamine to an FBI informant in February, the Times Union reported.
“Men would go into Shenanigans as customers and leave as victims,” Assistant US Attorney Jonathan Reiner said at the detention hearing for Canessa, who is facing a federal drug charge in the case.
Workers would secretly drug the customers, and swipe their credit cards for up to $10,000 while they were passed out, Reiner said.
Reiner said investigators seized four guns from Canessa’s home when he was arrested on April 9 and found cocaine, 1,000 pills of ecstasy and $41,000 in cash.
He admitted to selling meth, cocaine, marijuana and MDMA from his home, according to News10 ABC.
Reiner added that Canessa, who also managed an adjoining lingerie shop, underreported his income by more than 500 percent, telling probation officers that he made only $3,000 a month from the two hustles.
Canessa’s lawyer downplayed the allegations, along with concerns about his client’s supposed “enemies list” and alleged history of intimidation.
Any strip club happenings would “raise eyebrows” if looked at under a microscope, public defender Jeremy Sporn said at the hearing.
It’s more a story of the town of Colonie being “down and out.”
“I think there’s certainly a different story to tell here,” Sporn added.
On Thursday, a judge agreed that Canessa could be a flight risk and ruled in favor of keeping him locked up in an Albany County jail ahead of his trial.
The FBI has been investigating a “wide array of crime” including drug and sex trafficking and wire fraud since last year, according to the criminal complaint.
Canessa could face up to 40 years in prison if he is convicted. Before moving to the Capital region, Canessa lived in Manhattan’s Fort George, according to public records.
