Blitz Bureau
BOSTON: The owner of two Boston-area pizza shops convicted of forced labour for using physical violence and threats of reprisal or deportation against employees living in the country illegally has been sentenced to more than eight years in prison, reported Associated Press.
Stavros Papantoniadis, 49, of Westwood – the owner of Stash’s Pizza, a Massachusetts pizzeria chain – was sentenced in federal court to 102 months in prison, one year of supervised release and ordered to pay a $35,000 fine.
Papantoniadis forced or attempted to force six victims — five men and one woman — to work for him and comply with excessive workplace demands through violent physical abuse; threats of violence and serious harm; and repeated threats to report the victims to immigration authorities for deportation, according to prosecutors.
AP further reported that in June, a jury convicted Papantoniadis of three counts of forced labour and three counts of attempted forced labour. He has remained in custody since his arrest in March 2023.
A lawyer for Papantoniadis said he’s pursuing a new trial and an appeal. “Although the judge saw fit to sentence him slightly beneath the guidelines, we are disappointed in the length of the sentence,” Carmine Lepore said in an email. “The sentencing guidelines applicable to this case are more appropriate for human traffickers and sexual servitude defendants,” he added.
Acting United States Attorney Joshua Levy said Papantoniadis was driven by greed to prey on his workers. “Labuor trafficking exploits the vulnerable through fear and intimidation, all in pursuit of the almighty buck. That is what Stavros Papantoniadis did when he violated the rights of the people working in his restaurants,” Levy said.
