Owner of Boston Pizzeria Chain Sentenced to 8 Years for Forced Labor of Undocumented Foreign Nationals

The owner of a Boston-based pizzeria chain with locations throughout Massachusetts was sentenced last week to more than eight years in federal prison for the forced labor of undocumented foreign nationals, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts announced on Monday.

Stavros Papantoniadis, aka “Steve Papantoniadis,” 49, of Westwood, Mass., owner of Stash’s Pizza, was sentenced on Friday, Oct. 25, to 102 months in prison, to be followed by one year of supervised release. He was also ordered to pay a $35,000 fine.

Papantoniadis was convicted of three counts of forced labor and three counts of attempted forced labor by a federal jury in June 2024. He has remained in custody since his arrest on March 16, 2023.

Stash’s Pizza is a chain of pizzerias with locations in Dorchester and Roslindale, and previously in Norwood, Norwell, Randolph (d/b/a Boston Pizza Company), Weymouth (d/b/a Pacini’s Italian Eatery), and Wareham, Mass.

According to federal prosecutors, Papantoniadis physically abused and threatened six undocumented foreign nationals he had working for him in his pizza shops for over a decade, forcing the unauthorized immigrants to work in the pizzerias for 14 or more hours per day and as many as seven days per week.

“Labor 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,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Joshua Levy.

“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,” Levy said.

“I commend the bravery of the victims here for speaking out and taking a stand against their trafficker,” he added. “I hope that their strength to speak out sends a message to others whose rights are being abused that the federal government will not tolerate labor trafficking. The stiff sentence imposed on Mr. Papantoniadis demonstrates that there are grave consequences for employers who engage in this type of conduct.”

Prosecutors said the pizzeria chain owner forced six victims, five men and one woman, to comply with excessive workplace demands through violent physical abuse, threats of violence and repeated threats to report the undocumented workers to immigration authorities for deportation.

The six victims were foreign nationals who did not have authorization to work in the U.S.

When one of the victims expressed his intention to quit, Papantoniadis violently choked him, causing the victim to flee and run to the pizzeria’s parking lot.

In another case, Papantoniadis told one victim who planned to quit that he would kill him and call immigration authorities.

Papantoniadis went so far as to chase another worker who tried to quit and leave one of his pizza shops down Route 1 in Norwood, Mass., falsely reporting the victim to the local police in an attempt to pressure the victim to return to the pizzeria, prosecutors said.

“Stavros Papantoniadis exploited and abused his employees, denying them the basic dignity every person deserves. Today’s significant sentence sends a message to employers — employees deserve to work in safety, free from harassment and abuse and exploitative employers will be held to account,” said Special Agent in Charge Michael Krol of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) New England.

“Labor exploitation targets the disenfranchised in our society but we want employees to know that they have a voice and HSI is working with our partners to uphold and enforce labor laws,” Krol said.