Stash’s Pizza remains open despite the business chain’s owner being in federal custody, charged with forced labor.
Stavros Papantoniadis, 47, is accused of threatening to have undocumented employees deported from the United States and using violence and threats to scare victims into working long hours often without breaks or overtime pay.
“What has been charged against my dear friend Steve is beyond shocking, beyond belief and just simply untrue,” said Jerry Skordas, manager of Stash’s Pizza in Dorchester. He said he has worked with the Papantoniadis family since 1988. “I haven’t once encountered any maldoing whatsoever.”
Joel Gutierrez says he has worked at the restaurant for three and a half years.
“I think the allegations are bad, no one should tolerate that but, in this case at least, my coworkers and I have been treated very well,” said Guitierrez in Spanish.
This is not the first time Papantoniadis has been in trouble for labor practices. The U.S. Department of Labor first filed suit in March 2017 against Stash's Pizza, Boston Pizza Co., and Weymouth Pizza Co and owners Stavros "Steve" Papantoniadis and Polyxeny "Paulina" Papantoniadis. The suit alleged that the defendants failed to pay proper overtime to 120 employees, misrepresented employees’ pay rates, and falsified time records between November 2013 and March 2016.
In 2018, the department obtained an injunction from the court to halt violations that continued to occur after the lawsuit's filing and enjoin the...
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