Bridgeport Vazzy’s under Labor Department investigation

BRIDGEPORT — State labor watchdogs are formally probing Vazzy’s restaurant for potential violations of workplace laws.

“The Connecticut Department of Labor Wage and Workplace Standards Unit, responsible for identifying labor violations, has opened an investigation into Vazzy’s Restaurant in Bridgeport,” the agency said in a statement to Hearst Connecticut Media.

Owner John Vazzano’s attorney, Ed Gavin, said he would cooperate with “any inquiry from the state department of labor.”

Last month Hearst reported that the state labor department was examining the arrest warrant affidavit for Vazzano following his Feb. 17 arrest on bribery and other charges.

Vazzano, a prominent business owner often lauded for his contributions to the community, is accused of allegedly interfering in a sexual assault investigation of two longtime staffers at his dining establishment on Broadbridge Road in Bridgeport. He owns a handful of restaurants in Bridgeport, Stratford, Fairfield and Monroe and for years has operated the eatery at Bridgeport’s golf course.

The affidavit, signed by an investigator from the Office of the Chief State’s Attorney, includes summaries of witness interviews and other information collected in the investigation that stated Vazzano was paying some workers off the books in cash and keeping insufficient records.

Vazzy’s dishwasher Jaime Sena was arrested and charged in February 2020 with sexually assaulting a 16-year-old female co-worker. An arrest warrant was also issued for a second suspect in the case, cook Jose Tsenkush, who remains at large.

According to the arrest warrant affidavit, Vazzano told an investigator that he paid Sena “by allowing him to take the restaurant’s empty deposit bottle returns.” Vazzano also told police he did not believe he filled out W9 forms (an Internal Revenue Service form) for Sena and Tsenkush and “probably” did not pay them using his restaurant’s “payroll account service.”

“Vazzano stated he paid Tsenkush with checks from his restaurant’s People’s United Bank checking account under the name Mickey Perez, Michael Perez and/or Miguel Perez. The seized check ledger does not document the issuance of any checks to Mickey Perez, Michael Perez, and/or Miguel Perez,” it also says in the warrant.

In addition, the unidentified girl who reported the alleged assault to police told an investigator she worked “under the table” and Vazzy’s “paid her in cash at the end of each work shift.”

“The seized spiral bound restaurant’s check ledger does not document the issuance of any checks to ‘V,’” reads the affidavit, referring to the victim.

The affidavit also notes: “The Connecticut Department of Labor records for Vazzy’s Restaurant did not list Jaime Sena, Jose Tsenkush and ‘V’ as wage earners.”

Investigating officers also relayed that two people interviewed in the case — the teenage victim’s father and then-Bridgeport Police Chief Armando Perez — indicated they understood Vazzano had undocumented immigrants working for him.

The victim’s father said Vazzano told him of one undocumented staffer. And Perez, a friend of Vazzano’s, told investigating officers “he believes John Vazzano’s concerns over V’s criminal complaint stems from Vazzano’s employees being illegal immigrants.”

Last month Gavin told Hearst his client “has done nothing inappropriate with any employee.”

The labor department has said that it “had no prior record” of complaints against Vazzy’s.

That agency has stated that “all workers, regardless of immigration status, are afforded Connecticut Department of Labor protection from wage exploitation. … Employers are responsible for filing complete and accurate tax, payroll, employment and other information with state and federal entities. If an employer falsifies documents or fails to follow the law, they can be subject to fines and penalties from both state and federal agencies.”

Attorney Brenda Eckert with Shipman & Goodwin in Hartford heads that law firms’ immigration practice group. In a recent interview, she said she could not speak directly about the Vazzano situation but said in general that several government entities can get involved in labor/immigration cases, including the state Department of Revenue Services, the Connecticut Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities, the federal Internal Revenue Service, the U.S. Attorney’s Office and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

“It’s potentially a world of hurt from a civil and criminal point of view, especially if there’s a pattern,” said Eckert.

She ticked off a list of legal issues, starting with breaking immigration laws: “You are not supposed to knowingly hire undocumented foreign nationals.”

And paying salaries in cash raises questions about whether those employees are earning minimum wage, working too long hours or under other abusive conditions and whether they and their employer are filing the appropriate payroll taxes, Eckert said.

“That’s also very serious,” she said, adding: “Cash is usually an indication that the person making the payment is somehow getting a deal.”