Former Employees Of Chef Mike Fucci Come Forward Alleging Wage Theft, Intimidation With Baseball Bats

 

Yesterday I was contacted by the former manager of Chef Mike’s Catering in Needham:

Hi Aidan! My name is (redeacted) and I was the manager at Chef Mikes in the summer of 2020. Saw/dealt with a lot of shit there. He was awful to our staff (mostly high school/college kids) because he knew he could pay them crap while treating them like crap. One of the employees reached out to me and wanted to share screenshots with him about pay discrepancies with pay when he fired her and tried to short her. I am speaking with our team and we would like to submit some staff stories- however-remember these are kids and are afraid to put their names/info out there. We all left around the same time (Labor Day 2020). He was worse to our younger boys, calling them sissies and stuff like that.

Here are messages from an 18 year old girl who was hired by Fucci to work the counter for minimum wage, but was only paid the state mandated $4.95/hour waitress rate, despite the fact that she was working the counter where no tips came in.

Keep in mind, this was during COVID when almost no one was coming in for sit down dining, and Fucci’s business was almost entirely takeout. A waitress would stand to make almost no money in tips if they were to wait tables all day. This young woman agreed to work the counters for $12.75/hour during the slow hours, but then make the waitress pay of $4.95/hour on the rare occasion when people came in for sit down dining. In classic Chef Mike fashion he not only refused to pay the girl what she was owed, he also felt the need to demean her job performance, and said he was insulted that she would ask to be compensated for her labor:

Keep in mind, this is a man who was fired from a Watertown restaurant after 3 days as their star chef because he did such a bad job and was always walking around and making videos for social media. For him to accuse his employees of not having a proper work ethic is too ironic.

The former manager says he was worse to his young male employees, one of whom alleged that Fucci tried to intimidate him with a baseball bat, yelled at employees, threw things around, and created a toxic and chaotic work environment.

Fucci also lied to this former employee about sending him his check for his last week of work before going to college. He had to show up in person and did not receive the full amount he was owed. Like most of Fucci’s victims the former employee decided it wasn’t worth it to pursue and moved on with his life. However, he has nothing but bad things to say about Fucci now.

 

Fucci preyed on young, seasonal workers, knowing that they lack the time and resources to fight him in court, and would be the least informed on how to stand up for themselves.

How is this man not being investigated by the Attorney General’s Office? He stole from countless employees while spending money on his girlfriends and trips to the casino with his wife. It seems like the only reason he hasn’t been charged is not enough people have come forward because they don’t think anything will happen. However, there is strength in numbers. If you are a victim of Chef Mike Fucci’s wage theft you can file a complaint with the AG’s Office online by clicking here, and/or by calling 617-727-3465. Be loud and persistent. Telling Turtleboy is great for public shaming, but in order to actually get the government to do their job and hold him accountable it’s up to the victims to contact the proper authorities.