The owner of famed Manhattan pizzeria Grimaldi’s is accused of stealing wages from his own workers, as prosecutors alleged the victims — including pizza makers, salad preppers, busboys and dishwashers — got paychecks that bounced or couldn’t be cashed. NBC New York’s Myles Miller reports.
The owner of a well-known New York City pizzeria was accused of stealing his workers' hard-earned dough from their paychecks, slicing off more than $20,000 in wages, according to the district attorney.
Anthony Piscina, the owner of Grimaldi's Pizzeria, and Frank Santora, the manager of the Flatiron location on Sixth Avenue between 20th and 21st streets, were charged with failure to pay wages and scheme to defraud, DA Alvin Bragg announced Tuesday.
From Aug. 2017 through Aug. 2023, the 63-year-old Piscina and the 71-year-old Santora took a significant pizza their workers' pay, allegedly stealing wages from at least seven pizza makers, salad preppers, busboys and dishwashers.
"Again and again, we allege, the owner and manager of Grimaldi’s lied to their workers, underpaid them, and exploited them, ultimately taking more than $20,000 of their hard-earned wages," Bragg said. "In text messages to the defendants, the victims made it devastatingly clear how desperately they needed these funds."
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The DA's office started investigating after their Worker Protection Unit received multiple wage theft complaints about the pizzeria. Over the course of the alleged scheme, Piscina and Santora would give some workers paychecks that later bounced or failed to pay them wages altogether, according to court documents.
Workers were strung along by the owner and manager sending them partial payments through money apps, court documents state, and also making appointments to settle the owed wages — then failing to show up at those meetings.
Some employees were said to have been given far less than New York's minimum wage for their work. For example, one busboy was promised he would get paid $10 an hour (well below the state minimum wage of $15) and then never got any money from Grimaldi's whatsoever, according to court documents.
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For weeks, the employees repeatedly sent texts to both Piscina and Santora requesting their pay. Oftentimes the owner or manager would agree to finally pay them, then simply never paid up, prosecutors said. Santora gave a letter to a worker of six years that he owed him more than $4,500, the DA's office said. Despite the employee trying to get that money, he was allegedly never paid by the pizzeria.
One former worker informed Piscina and Santora that he was planning to hire a lawyer in order to get his backpay, Piscina told him "I've got 3 complaints on me. The state is not gonna do a thing." The owner told the same employee, who was wearing a hat with an American flag on it, to "TAKE THAT OFF. YOU CAN'T WEAR THAT" because he was not born in the U.S.
Piscina was steaming as he was hauled into court on Thursday. He denied he took money from employees, saying to reporters "Come on, stop. No, stop it, please" as he walked by, adding "I pay everybody."
When asked if he paid workers below minimum wage, Piscina said that "is a complete lie, oh my God." He also denied saying in text messages that he would beat any legal action the state brought against him, telling NBC New York "What are you, nuts? That's not me."
Bragg said he believes there may be more victims who had their wages allegedly taken from them, and encouraged others to call or message the office's Worker Protection Unit at (646) 712-0298.
Piscina and Santora were released on their own recognizance. They are scheduled to be back in court in May. If convicted, they faces up to a year behind bars.
