Boston pizza shop owner convicted of forced labor against employees in the country illegally

BOSTON (AP) — The owner of two Boston pizza shops was convicted Friday of forced labor charges following a nine-day trial. The jury found that Stavros Papantoniadis, of Westwood, Mass. forced or attempted to force six victims to work for him and comply with excessive workplace demands through violent physical abuse, threats of violence, and repeated threats to report them to immigration authorities. Papantoniadis was convicted of three counts of forced labor and three counts of attempted forced labor. He is scheduled for sentencing on Sept. 12. A lawyer representing Papantoniadis said he was disappointed the jury overlooked the motives of the victims to obtain legal immigration status.