“With today’s guilty plea, 18 hard-working New Yorkers will be made whole and receive the wages stolen from them by their employers at Grimaldi’s Pizzeria,” said District Attorney Bragg. “This case expanded since the initial announcement because more workers came forward, making clear the importance of both outreach and reporting. We encourage anyone whose wages have been stolen to call our Worker Protection Unit by calling or messaging (646) 712-0298. The Office is a safe place to report crime, whether or not you are documented.” 

“With this resolution, two workers who had the courage to come forward were made whole,” said District Attorney Bragg. “I hope that the full restitution secured in this case assures New Yorkers that we are here to help them reclaim wages that were criminally taken from them. Please report wage theft or dangerous workplace conditions to our Worker Protection Unit at 646-712-0298.”

“Again and again, we allege, the owner and manager of Grimaldi’s lied to their workers, underpaid them, and exploited them, ultimately taking more than $20,000 of their hard-earned wages” said District Attorney Bragg. “In text messages to the defendants, the victims made it devastatingly clear how desperately they needed these funds. In Manhattan, we value workers and we fight to make sure they receive every dollar they earn. We believe there may be more victims and encourage any worker whose wages have been stolen to call our Worker Protection Unit by calling or messaging (646) 712-0298. The Office is a safe place to report crime, whether or not you are documented.”

“These workers performed extremely dangerous rigging work from the top of landmark skyscrapers, a job that requires both extreme skill and nerves of steel,” said District Attorney Bragg. “Yet, for nearly 18 months, we allege George Cole operated a lucrative company without insurance for his employees – all while stealing their wages. This indictment demonstrates the importance of collaboration among the members of our Construction Fraud Task Force to keeping New York’s workers safe, and I thank each of our partners for their work on this investigation.”