A pizza shop owner in Massachusetts was sentenced to 8.5 years in prison for threatening undocumented workers with physical violence and deportation.
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Stavros Papantoniadis, 49, the owner of Stash’s Pizza, was sentenced to 102 months in federal prison, followed by one year of supervised release, and ordered to pay a $35,000 fine after being convicted on multiple counts of forced labor. According to Newsweek, the conviction comes after a thorough investigation where prosecutors detailed the pizza shop owner’s abuse of his employees, where he exploited their undocumented status by forcing them to work under harsh labor conditions and using threats to keep them under control. Six individuals, including one woman, were reportedly coerced into working 14-hour shifts, seven days a week.
One employee reported an incident of physical assault where Papantoniadis choked him, causing him to flee his job. One worker reported being pursued on a highway after trying to quit his job. Additionally, he was falsely reported to authorities in an attempt to force him to return to work at the pizza shop. U.S. Attorney Josh Levy characterized Papantoniadis’ case as “labor trafficking,” indicating that the employer exploited the fears of undocumented workers for profit.
“He deliberately hired foreign nationals who lacked authorization to work in the United States and then turned their lack of immigration status against them, threatening them with deportation and violence to keep them under his control,”
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Papantoniadis’ legal team claims that the sentence is excessive and claims it should be reserved for those who committed harsher trafficking crimes. “The sentencing guidelines applicable to this case are more appropriate for human traffickers and sexual servitude defendants,” said attorney Carmine Lepore.