Tenant claims Boston pizza shop owner accused of abusing employees is dishonest landlord
BOSTON - A former tenant of the owner of Stash's pizza chain is speaking out about Stavros Papantoniadis, the man charged in a federal case of forced labor, claiming he is also an unscrupulous landlord.
"It's been tough to deal with him throughout," said the former tenant who did not want to be identified but provided WBZ-TV with a copy of his rental agreement for confirmation. He also shared video of water leaks in his apartment and the basement of the Roslindale triple decker where he lived, from work he claims was unlicensed.
"I would ask for permits and to see licenses from plumbers. It was never made available to me," he said.
There were text exchanges when he called National Grid over a gas leak but was told Papantoniadis should have handled it. Now he's fighting a 30-day eviction notice which he says was the result of an argument over a broken toilet the landlord wouldn't immediately fix.
"We went back and forth and later that day I was evicted I believe in retaliation for asking my toilet be repaired," he said.
The most egregious of all are the allegations that Papantoniadis exploited undocumented workers at his pizza locations for years by overworking and underpaying them, using physical violence and intimidation with threats to call immigration authorities. Immigration attorney Audrey Richardson says the workers may now have legal recourse. "In the Stash's case hopefully through the criminal process there will be further compensation and restitution not only in wages but other damages they suffered," Richardson said.
No one would comment when WBZ-TV entered the Stash's location in Dorchester and the Roslindale location had a sign in the window saying it was closed for the day. The former tenant says he's now horrified at the latest charges. "I'm shocked that this evil exists anywhere in the world," he said.
The federal criminal probe began when Papantoniadis settled a civil suit over unpaid wages four years ago, and now it's clear that was far from the end of the alleged abuse. He'll be back in court on Monday and could face 20 years in prison if convicted.