The owner of a Massachusetts pizza chain was found guilty of forcing six employees to work excessive hours and threatening them with violence and deportation.
According to a notification from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Massachusetts on Friday, a federal jury found 48-year-old Stavros “Steve” Papantoniadis, the owner of Stash’s Pizza, guilty of three counts of forced labor and three counts of attempted forced labor.
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The verdict follows a lengthy investigation into Papantoniadis, who has been in detention since March 2023.
We have scheduled his sentencing hearing for September 12. Each count can result in up to 20 years in prison and five years of supervised release.
According to prosecution records, Papantoniadis understaffed his pizza stores and purposely employed undocumented workers, pushing them to work up to 14-hour shifts seven days a week.
Papantoniadis used threats of physical violence or deportation to keep his workforce under control. He would continually insult and abuse them while monitoring them using security cameras he could access from his mobile, according to court filings.
“Stavros Papantoniadis created fear among his employees. “He underpaid them and threatened them, scaring some with arrest and physically abusing others.” Today, the jury saw the indignities his employees endured and found Papantoniadis guilty of forced labor violations,” said Michael Krol, special agent in charge of Homeland Security Investigations in New England.
When Papantoniadis discovered a victim’s intention to quit, he allegedly choked him.
When another victim tried to drive away from one of the eateries, Papantoniadis pursued them down Route 1 in Norwood, pretending to call local police in an attempt to force the victim to return to work.
Stash’s Pizza is a local chain with restaurants in Dorchester and Roslindale, as well as former outlets in Norwood, Norwell, Randolph, Weymouth, and Wareham.
Papantoniadis has already come under fire for suspected workplace maltreatment.
In 2017, the U.S. Department of Labor sued him and co-owner Polyxeny “Paulina” Papantoniadis for allegedly failing to pay proper overtime to 120 employees, misrepresenting pay rates, and fabricating time records from November 2013 to March 2016.
The owners had to repay wages totaling more than $300,000 in 2019.
Since then, the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office has received three complaints against Stash’s Pizza, alleging wage and hour violations.
