Bronx Bakery Owner Is Charged With Cheating Workers (44 felony and 240 misdemeanor counts)

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/27/nyregion/27wage.html

By JOEL STONINGTON
Published: March 26, 2009

The owner of an Italian bakery in the Bronx was arrested Thursday on charges that he paid his workers less than the minimum wage and denied them overtime. When the state began investigating, the authorities said, he threatened or fired some of his workers.

The owner, Walter Galiano, 57, was arraigned in State Supreme Court on 44 felony and 240 misdemeanor counts including insurance fraud, minimum wage law violations, tax fraud and the illegal withholding of more than $350,000 in wages.

M. Patricia Smith, commissioner of the New York State Department of Labor, said a worker at Mr. Galiano’s business, the Arthur Avenue Bakery, came forward anonymously and prompted the investigation, which began in 2007. A stop work order was issued last year, but the bakery continued to operate under illegal work conditions, Ms. Smith said. She said the case was handed over to Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo in August 2008.

“Some of his workers received, we allege, $55 for an entire day’s work that could be between 10 to 12 hours,” said Mylan L. Denerstein, a deputy attorney general. “That clearly violates the minimum wage laws as well as the overtime laws.” New York State’s minimum wage is $7.15 an hour.

FULL story at link.

[blueknight]

1. he also

has ties to the genovese crime family

[lurky]

2. Yikes. That's a brave whistle-blower.

I hope he is safe.

[BrklynLiberal]

3. The name Galiano sure raises the hair on the back of my neck.