TV Chef Lidia Bastianich Accused of Trapping Woman Into 'Slavery'
Famed TV chef and restaurateur, Lidia Bastianich has been accused by a former employee of forcing her to care for an aging family friend in a situation that border-lined on slavery.
Maria Carmela Farina, filed a lawsuit yesterday for $5 million, claiming that Bastianich lured her to America from her native Italy under false pretenses. With the promise that her immigration papers would be taken care of and that she would have a $600 a week position as a chef at Bastianich's TV shows and restaurants, Farina journeyed to the U.S. in 2006.
Upon arriving, she alleges that she was instead given the responsibility of caring for 99-year-old Luigia Crespi, the wife of Bastianich's handyman who died in 1995 from stomach cancer.
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The law suit details that Bastianich had an agreement with Oscar Crespi that he would hand over the deed to his house in Queens for $10 if she would care of his wife. Once he died, Bastianich was granted the house, but once Luigia Crespi became seriously ill, Farina was brought in to be her 24-hour personal assistant.
"She was completely hoodwinked by Lidia," Paul Catsandonis, Farina's lawyer told the Daily News. "Lidia thought she was running a Roman empire and that this woman was one of her slaves."
According to the suit, Bastianich and her family would call Farina "Il shiavo di lusso," or the "the golden slave," in Italian. She was not paid for her six years of service in aiding a woman who was twice her size.
Catsandonis told the Daily News that Farina is 4-foot-7 and weighs just under 100 pounds while Crespi was taller and weighed over 200 pounds. Among her duties were bathing, feeding and shopping for the woman as well as aiding her to and from the bathroom.
"This was just sprung on her when she got here," Catsandonis said. "She thought that she was coming here to have an illustrious career as a creative chef."
The suit also details that Bastianich and her daughter and business partner, Tanya Bastianich Manuali would tell Farina that she should be thankful to them because their company was paying for Farina's health insurance and that they were working on securing her Visa.
In actuality, Bastianich lied on immigration papers, stating that Farina worked for her as a chef; a move which could now jeopardize her eligibility for a permanent residence. In addition, both Bastianichs' led Farina to believe that her "pay" was being deposited in a bank account, but Farina never had access to a bank account and never received pay, the suit continues.
Upon the death of Luigia Crespi in December 2010, at the age of 105, Bastianich sold the bartered home for $549,000 and Farina was presented with a one way ticket back to Italy and another promise that she would receive $10,000 pending her return.
While the case develops, Farina's lawyers say that she is now practically living in hiding somewhere in Queens.
Bastianich's spokeswoman Brooke Adams declined to comment.
