NEW YORK (PIX11) -- The owner and manager of well-known New York City pizza shop Grimaldi’s in Manhattan stole $32,080 worth of wages from 18 workers, District Attorney Alvin Bragg announced Wednesday.
Owner Anthony Piscina, 63, and manager Frank Santora, 71, plead guilty to Attempted Scheme to Defraud in the First Degree and were sentenced to pay full restitution, prosecutors said.
The two stole wages through the following means:
- Providing paychecks that bounced
- Sending partial payments through financial apps
- Scheduling appointments to settle wages and failing to appear
- Offering under the New York State minimum wage or failing to pay altogether
The employees sent text messages asking for their wages but never received payment, prosecutors said. One busboy was never paid and was owed around $8,000 in stolen wages.
Piscina allegedly told an employee who claimed they would hire a lawyer, "The State is not gonna do a thing." In another instance, Santora gave an employee a letter that stated, "I owe you $4,559", but never paid him.
Piscina and Santora gave a cashier's check with full restitution to the District Attorney's Office on Wednesday.
Ben Mitchell is a digital content producer from Vermont who has covered both local and international news since 2021. He joined PIX11 in 2024. See more of his work here.
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