"Stash's Pizza Shop Owner Indicted, Accused of Abusing at Least 7 Employees"

The owner of Boston pizza chain Stash's Pizza, who was already facing federal charges on accusations he forced employees to work under threat of abuse and deportation, has been indicted on new forced labor charges, accused of abusing and threatening at least seven of his workers.

Stavros Papantoniadis, 48, was ... originally charged with one count of forced labor. The new charges further expand on that alleged pattern of verbal and physical abuse, and say it involved at least seven employees, over the course of several years.

Prosecutors allege that Papantoniadis threatened his workers and forced them to work under excessive demands. Those demands included paying them low wages and making them work six or seven days or week, for shifts longer than eight hours, often without overtime or breaks.

According to court documents, Papantoniadis targeted employees who lacked immigration status and routinely made threats to call immigration officials to have employees deported.

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If convicted, the charges of forced labor and attempted forced labor each provide for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, up to five years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000

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Workplace advocates have told NBC10 Boston that allegations of restaurant workers not being paid or being required to work longer without extra pay aren't uncommon. They noted that everyone in Massachusetts has workplace rights.