When the Busy Chef ripped off his customers, he wasn’t just selling them overpriced arugula. Dan Kaufman, manager of four Brooklyn Heights eateries, was arrested for identity theft and credit card forgery in late July and his restaurants—including the Blue Pig, Oven, Busy Chef and the Wine Bar at 50 Henry—all shuttered their doors. Kaufman was arrested for allegedly stealing $25,000 from customers and bilking even more from the business itself.
Kaufman might have been trying to scam a few extra bucks, but ended up joining a proud tradition of New York restaurateurs who got caught with their hands in the cookie jar.
After turning a Midtown club into the center of the disco universe, owner Steve Rubell bragged that only the mafia brought in more money than his infamous nightclub, Studio 54. Too bad the authorities then treated the outspoken entrepreneur like La Cosa Nostra by raiding his club. Six months later, Rubell and his partner, Ian Schrager, were charged with tax evasion, obstruction of justice and conspiracy after failing to report nearly $2,500,000 of the club’s income. Both men were awarded with the change to dance away the last days of disco behind bars.
In 2006, Gramercy Tavern bookkeeper Sandrene Austin siphoned off $275,000 from Danny Meyer’s East Side hotspot. The sticky-fingered bean counter, despite being four months pregnant, was sentenced to a three-year prison stay.
And just last week, Giuseppe Cipriani, the owner of Cipriani restaurants including the Rainbow Room and a slew of Eurotrash flytraps, was surprisingly awarded a liquor license after pleading guilty to tax evasion in 2007 and paying $10 million in restitution. The same investigation revealed that Cipriani Vice President Dennis Pappas cheated Social Security and three health insurance companies out of more than $1 million by filing false disability claims. The crime of charging $20 for a bellini, however, has yet to be avenged.
Kaufman might have been trying to scam a few extra bucks, but ended up joining a proud tradition of New York restaurateurs who got caught with their hands in the cookie jar.
After turning a Midtown club into the center of the disco universe, owner Steve Rubell bragged that only the mafia brought in more money than his infamous nightclub, Studio 54. Too bad the authorities then treated the outspoken entrepreneur like La Cosa Nostra by raiding his club. Six months later, Rubell and his partner, Ian Schrager, were charged with tax evasion, obstruction of justice and conspiracy after failing to report nearly $2,500,000 of the club’s income. Both men were awarded with the change to dance away the last days of disco behind bars.
In 2006, Gramercy Tavern bookkeeper Sandrene Austin siphoned off $275,000 from Danny Meyer’s East Side hotspot. The sticky-fingered bean counter, despite being four months pregnant, was sentenced to a three-year prison stay.
And just last week, Giuseppe Cipriani, the owner of Cipriani restaurants including the Rainbow Room and a slew of Eurotrash flytraps, was surprisingly awarded a liquor license after pleading guilty to tax evasion in 2007 and paying $10 million in restitution. The same investigation revealed that Cipriani Vice President Dennis Pappas cheated Social Security and three health insurance companies out of more than $1 million by filing false disability claims. The crime of charging $20 for a bellini, however, has yet to be avenged.
