Disgruntled Ex-Employee of Bar Veloce Not Letting Up

photo(5)Daniel Maurer The flyer, spotted on Second Avenue.

Flyers lambasting the owner of Bar Veloce have once again appeared in the neighborhood on First and Second Avenues — and this time the disgruntled ex-employee behind them cites the restaurateur’s other businesses as well.

“Beware East Village: Porsena, Porchetta, and Ugly Kitchen Restaurants’ Owner is suspected of Unlawful Practices at Various Locations!” the flyer reads. The owner in question, of course, is Frederick Twomey, who was the subject of a flyer campaign in January that alleged that he underpaid workers at Bar Veloce on Second Avenue. That led Mr. Twomey to counter-sue the former employee, John Sawyer Preston, alleging that “customers have been driven away, potential investors lost, and employees unnecessarily upset and confused” because of the campaign.

“It’s an attempt to inflict economic harm on the businesses, myself, and my employees in order to get us to pay them a certain amount of money rather than letting the case go on and letting a courtroom decide the merits of the case,” said Mr. Twomey, who did not want to go into many details, citing the ongoing litigation. (The complaint that Mr. Preston filed along with two others, accusing management of illegally retaining 30 percent of their tips, is reprinted below.)

On his way to Porsena, Mr. Twomey did add one thing. “Intimidation tactics, I believe, will backfire in the end.”

Update | 11:34 a.m. Sara Jenkins, co-owner of Porchetta and Porsena, called The Local this morning with a clarification. “Frederick is in no way an owner at Porchetta, and I have nothing to do with this wage violation issue,” Ms. Jenkins said.