Owner, manager of Grimaldi’s pizzeria allegedly stole $20K in wages from workers, brazenly bragged about getting away with it: prosecutors
NY Post
That’s a lot of dough.
The owner and manager of Grimaldi’s pizzeria in Manhattan allegedly pocketed $20,000 in wages owed to seven workers — then brazenly bragged about getting away with it when confronted by one of the employees, prosecutors said Thursday.
Frank Santora, 71, the proprietor or the famous pizza shop’s Flatiron location, and manager Anthony Piscina, 63, allegedly carried out the racket between August 2017 and August 2023, stiffing pizza makers, busboys and salad preppers, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said at a press conference.
The pie-making pair allegedly underpaid employees, lied about payments, sent bounced paychecks, convinced them to work through partial payments via apps, set “appointments” to pay and never showed up and failed “to pay wages altogether,” according to Bragg.
Prosecutors said employees sent several text messages to the bosses asking for payment. One of the distraught workers pleaded for their pay after a death in their family.
“Good morning, what happened to the payment? Please I have an emergency, my grandmother died. I need my money please,” the employee begged Piscina.
