The proprietor of two pizzerias in the Boston region was found guilty on Friday of forcing workers to work excessive hours, sometimes seven days a week, by employing physical force and threats of retaliation or deportation against undocumented immigrants.
Stavros Papantoniadis, of the Westwood, Massachusetts, suburb, is accused by prosecutors of purposefully hiring undocumented immigrants for 14 or more hours a day in the backroom of his pizzerias and staffing them sparingly.
Prosecutors claimed that he continuously ridiculed, humiliated, and tormented the employees while keeping an eye on them through security cameras that he viewed from his cell phone.
The jury concluded that Papantoniadis had violently abused six victims into believing he would injure them physically or have them deported in order to force them to work for him and comply with his working demands.
Three counts of forced labor and three counts of attempted forced labor were found against Papantoniadis. On September 12, he is expected to be sentenced.
Forced labor and attempted forced labor each carry a maximum term of twenty years in prison, a maximum five-year supervised release period, a maximum $250,000 fine, and restitution.
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The victim tried to leave, but Papantoniadis pursued him down Route 1 in Norwood, according to the prosecution, and then he lied to the local police to get the victim back to work.
One employee fled the pizza business and sought refuge in the parking area after Papantoniadis choked him after learning of his intended resignation.
“Today’s guilty verdict sends a powerful message to abusive employers that exploiting employees through fear and intimidation will never be tolerated,” Acting United States Attorney Joshua Levy stated. “I hope that this verdict also alerts others who may be victims of exploitation and harm by employers, that the federal government will not sit idly by.”
Papantoniadis’s attorney stated that both he and his client accept the jury’s decision.
“However we are extremely disappointed that they credited the testimony of the victims and overlooked their motives, which was to attain lawful status here in our country,” Carmine Lepore stated.
