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The owner of a Pizza chain in Massachusetts has been sentenced to 8+ years in prison after mistreating his employees and inducing forced labor.
What’s the deal: According to federal prosecutors, Stavros Papantoniadis, owner of Stash’s Pizza in Massachusetts, was sentenced to eight and a half years in prison for forcing undocumented immigrants to work excessively long hours without pay, using threats of violence and deportation to maintain control. Prosecutors revealed that Papantoniadis coerced his employees into working over 14 hours a day, seven days a week, by employing physical violence—including choking—and threats against those who attempted to quit. In court documents, Papantoniadis told a worker he would kill them if they stopped working.
Additional allegations: US Attorney for Massachusetts, Joshua Levy, claimed that Papantoniadis “threatened another worker by telling him he knew where the victim lived.” He continued, “When another worker tried to leave and drive away from one of Papantoniadis’ pizza shops, Papantoniadis chased the victim down Route 1 in Norwood, Mass., and falsely reported the victim to the local police in an effort to pressure the victim to return to work at the pizza shop.”
US official reacts: Special Agent in Charge Michael J. Krol for Homeland Security Investigations reacted to Papantoniadis’s sentence. He said, “Stavros Papantoniadis exploited and abused his employees, denying them the basic dignity every person deserves. Today’s significant sentence sends a message to employers — employees deserve to work in safety, free from harassment and abuse and exploitative employers will be held to account. Labor exploitation targets the disenfranchised in our society but we want employees to know that they have a voice and HSI is working with our partners to uphold and enforce labor laws.”
