Latest news with #MassachusettsAttorneyGeneral'sOffice
Yahoo
17 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Boston restaurant cited for $1.8M for allowing managers to participate in tip pools
The Massachusetts Attorney General's Office has cited a high-end Boston restaurant for over $1.8 million for violating state wage laws that bar managers from participating in tip pools. On Tuesday, the attorney general's office issued citations against Zuma — a modern Japanese restaurant located inside the Four Seasons hotel — and its manager, Garrett Ronan, for requiring that service workers share their tips with employees who had managerial duties, according to a press release. Zuma did not respond to a request for comment Tuesday afternoon. The attorney general's office began investigating Zuma in July 2022 after it received a complaint from one of the restaurant's employees, according to the release. The staff member said that employees who'd been promoted were continuing to participate in the restaurant's tip pool despite now being ineligible under state law. Massachusetts wage laws allow tip pooling for wait staff, bartenders and other service employees. But even if managers and supervisors help serve customers, they are barred from participation in tip pools on any day on which they were tasked with managerial duties. The attorney general's office alleges that, between July 2022 and July 2024, Zuma allowed employees with managerial duties, which it referred to as 'captains,' to illegally participate in its tip pool, according to the release. The restaurant is being cited for a total of approximately $1,813,850, which includes penalties and restitution for unpaid wages, the attorney general's office said. Some Zuma employees are set to receive as much as $50,000 in lost earnings. Massachusetts residents who believe their workplace rights have been violated are encouraged to file a complaint with the attorney general's office at For more information about state workplace laws, call the office's Fair Labor Hotline at (617) 727-3465 or visit Milford student arrested by ICE has fever, sleeping on floor, attorney says Boston in the running for most walkable city in the country — here's how to vote Rock Hall of Fame inductee cancels 2025 tour 'with deep regret' Boston's Mariel Underground closes to become 'stunning new concept' this fall Markey, advocates call out ban on states' AI oversight in Trump's 'Big Beautiful Bill' Read the original article on MassLive.
Yahoo
02-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
AG punishes companies over asbestos cleanup at former Springfield YMCA
SPRINGFIELD — The Massachusetts Attorney General's Office announced settlements Friday with two companies over illegal asbestos work at the former YMCA of Greater Springfield building at 275 Chestnut St. Defendants will pay $105,000 into Environmental Justice Trust and additional civil penalties. Ray Services Inc. and Allegrone Construction Co. Inc. were accused of violating the Massachusetts Clean Air Act and its asbestos regulation by illegally handling, removing and storing asbestos-contaminated demolition debris, the Massachusetts Attorney General's Office said in a statement. Home City Development Inc. is redeveloping the former Y into housing. In 2021, Ray and Allegrone were accused of storing asbestos-containing materials in and around a rusted-through storage container next to a parking lot and playground, storing asbestos abatement equipment in an unsecured room next to an active classroom and scraping asbestos-containing material without keeping it sufficiently wet and without ensuring the work area was contained. 'This illegal work risked harm to the defendants' employees and contractors, as well as the public and environment in the dense residential and commercial neighborhood surrounding the former YMCA,' the AG's office said in a statement. Under the terms with Ray, the company will pay a $150,000 civil penalty, $50,000 of which will be suspended contingent upon Ray's avoiding future violations of the Clean Air Act, and $50,000 of which will be paid into the state's Environmental Justice Fund to support on-the-ground projects to address environmental harms in disadvantaged communities. Under the terms with Allegrone, the company will pay a $150,000 civil penalty, $40,000 of which will be suspended contingent upon Allegrone's avoiding future violations of the Clean Air Act, and $55,000 will be paid into the enviro-justice fund. Two other companies already have been disciplined for their work at the same site. In March, Suffolk Superior Court entered a separate consent judgment with O'Reilly, Talbot & Okun Associates Inc., the asbestos project monitor for the work, requiring it to pay a $25,000 penalty in relation to some of the asbestos violations. In January 2024, the same court entered a default judgment against Service Transport Group Inc., the company that provided the faulty storage container for the project. Springfield Partners for Community Action still serves as the connection place in city Western New England University president Robert Johnson stepping down Holyoke Landing, location of Popeyes and Starbucks, sold Read the original article on MassLive. Read the original article on MassLive.
Yahoo
23-04-2025
- Yahoo
Four found guilty of operating Boston-area sex trafficking ring
Four people have been found guilty of operating a Boston-area sex trafficking ring that trafficked Central and South American women in four residential brothels, the Massachusetts Attorney General's Office announced Tuesday. Following a five-week trial, a Suffolk County Superior Court jury convicted 52-year-old Saugus resident Cristina Lasso, 38-year-old Lynn resident Jose Deblas, 43-year-old East Boston resident Marlon Nagano and 60-year-old Chelsea resident Jorge Lasso of charges related to operating four residential brothels, the attorney general's office said in a press release. The brothels were located in East Boston, Chelsea and Lynn and were in operation from October 2018 to July 2019. Women from Central and South America were rotated through the brothels on a weekly basis, and dozens of customers paid the defendants to have sex with the women each day, the attorney general's office said. Cristina Lasso was the head of the organization, and Jorge Lasso, Deblas and Nagano assisted her by recruiting victims, advertising sexual services, setting up appointments for sexual encounters, transporting women to and from the brothels and facilitating the exchange of money. Cristina Lasso was found guilty of four counts of trafficking persons for sexual servitude, maintaining a house of prostitution, keeping a house of ill fame and one count of money laundering, the attorney general's office said. Deblas was found guilty of one count of trafficking persons for sexual servitude, two counts of maintaining a house of prostitution, two counts of keeping a house of ill fame and one count of money laundering. Nagano was found guilty of one count of trafficking persons for sexual servitude, maintaining a house of prostitution and money laundering and two counts of keeping a house of ill fame, the attorney general's office said. Jorge Lasso was found guilty of one count of trafficking persons for sexual servitude and money laundering. The four defendants are scheduled to be sentenced in Suffolk Superior Court on May 2. FBI analyst calls Hadley man's small stash of plutonium 'not that big of a deal' Allston man held without bail in connection with death ruled a homicide Allston man arrested in connection with person's death ruled a homicide Woman, 2 teens and child hurt in shooting, stabbing in Mattapan home Man carrying loaded rifle arrested in Mattapan after 'violent struggle,' police say
Yahoo
18-04-2025
- Yahoo
16 arrested in Southeastern Massachusetts drug sweep
BOSTON (WPRI) — A yearlong investigation into a 'major fentanyl and cocaine trafficking operation' has resulted in 16 arrests. Law enforcement executed search warrants at 20 different locations in Fall River, Taunton, and other communities on Tuesday and Wednesday, according to the Massachusetts Attorney General's Office. Investigators seized a total of 2,360 grams of cocaine, 1,364 grams of fentanyl, 33 firearms, multiple high-capacity magazines, hundreds of rounds of ammunition, and $109,355 in cash. The joint investigation, dubbed 'Operation No Love,' began in March 2024 and was led by the Massachusetts State Police Interstate Narcotics Reduction Enforcement Team, Homeland Security Investigations and the Raynham Police Department. An undercover state trooper bought drugs nine times from members of the alleged trafficking organization. 'With the controlled purchases as a starting point, the investigative team used a combination of physical and electronic surveillance, toll analysis, and court-authorized electronic intercepts of target cell phones, to identify the organization's hierarchy, primary subjects, communication devices, vehicles, methods of operation, and sources of narcotics supply,' the AG's office said in a press release. ALSO READ: Man stabbed in New Bedford; suspect in custody Investigators then obtained warrants for 11 locations in Taunton, four locations in Fall River, two locations in Raynham, and one each in Falmouth, Norton, and Pembroke. Nearly 200 officers and troopers were involved in conducting the searches, according to the AG's office. The suspects were men and women ranging in age from 26 to 59. They were arraigned on various drug, firearm and conspiracy charges. Download the and apps to get breaking news and weather alerts. Watch or with the new . Follow us on social media: Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
