Hispanic workers to sue Yonkers developer over pay

Some Hispanic workers who claim they were overworked and underpaid by a Yonkers developer announced Thursday that they intend to sue. Their attorney, Jonathan Lovett, said developer Joe Spiezio essentially

News 12 Staff

May 22, 2008, 10:47 PM

Updated 6,081 days ago

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Some Hispanic workers who claim they were overworked and underpaid by a Yonkers developer announced Thursday that they intend to sue.
Their attorney, Jonathan Lovett, said developer Joe Spiezio essentially treated the men like slaves. The plaintiffs, some of whom are admitted undocumented immigrants, said they renovated the Main Street trolley barn, the Centuck Shopping Center and Spiezio's office at 55 Main St.
They even claim they worked on Spiezio's New Rochelle home on Sundays.
Some of the jobs were completed years ago, but Lovett said the workers were unaware of their right to sue. The workers claim Spiezio held back 20 percent of their pay for taxes, but the money allegedly ended up in his pocket. Lovett said Spiezio also failed to pay overtime.
Spiezio also allegedly used racial slurs and even threatened to kill one of the workers.
"I don't know anything about it and there's no reason to comment on allegations like that," said Spiezio about the accusations. His attorney added that it's unusual for Lovett to hold a news conference before actually serving his client with papers.
Some claim Spiezio's political connections and longstanding history of developing properties in Westchester have kept the issue from surfacing in the past.