A pizza shop owner is sentenced to 8.5 years in prison for threatening workers with deportation
The owner of two Boston-area pizza shops convicted of forced labor 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
BOSTON — The owner of two Boston-area pizza shops convicted of forced labor 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.
Stavros Papantoniadis, 49, of Westwood — the owner of Stash’s Pizza, a Massachusetts pizzeria chain — was sentenced Friday 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.
In June, a jury convicted Papantoniadis of three counts of forced labor and three counts of attempted forced labor. Papantoniadis 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.”
Acting United States Attorney Joshua Levy said Papantoniadis was driven by greed to prey on his workers.
“Labor trafficking exploits the vulnerable through
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