Owners of NYC pizzeria Grimaldi’s accused of stealing wages from workers

Grimaldi's accused of not paying employees

District Attorney Alvin Bragg has accused the owner and manager of Grimaldi's Pizzeria of stealing thousands of dollars from minimum wage employees. FOX 5 NY's Jessica Formoso has the story.

NEW YORK - The owners of Grimaldi's, a NYC pizzeria famous for its brick-oven baked pies, are accused of stealing more than $20,000 in wages from minimum wage employees, who allegedly begged for their hard-earned money, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg announced Thursday.

"I sure need money to pay my rent please … Please, I have an emergency. My grandmother died. I need my money please," Bragg said at a Thursday press conference, quoting text messages from Grimaldi's employees.

Grimaldis Coal Brick Oven Pizzeria manager Frank Santora and consultant Anthony Piscina joined Fox & Friends First to discuss new NYC rules cracking down on coal, wood-fired pizzerias.

Owner Anthony Piscina and Manhattan manager Frank Santora "schemed to defraud at least seven workers, pizza makers, salad preppers, bus boys, and dishwashers of more than $20,000 worth of wages," the indictment alleges.

Instead of paying employees, Piscina and Santora allegedly gave employees paychecks that bounced, convinced employees to continue working through partial payments, and made appointments to settle wages that were owned and never followed through.

"What may appear to some as a relatively low dollar amount can have life-changing consequences when stolen from someone making minimum wage," Bragg said.

In some cases, the employers didn't pay their employees at all.

According to the indictment, one man was offered $10 an hour for a busboy job – well under NYC's $15 minimum wage – but never saw a dime. This former employee is owed approximately $8,000 for his work, Bragg said.

When employees threatened to take legal action, the owners allegedly told them, "The state is not gonna do a thing," and even cited three other outstanding complaints against them.

In another instance, Santora is said to have given an employee of six years, an IOU letter that said, "I owe you $4,559." Bragg said that the employee has still never been paid a cent.

Charges against Piscina and Santora include scheming to defraud and failure to pay wages.

"In Manhattan, we value our workers, and at the day's office we fight each and every day to make sure they receive every dollar they earn.," Bragg said Thursday.