Pizza parlour at centre of wages scandal goes up in flames
by Leon Gettler
Police are investigating a fire which caused more than $700,000 damage to Uncle Tony’s Pizza in the Perth suburb of Bullsbrook
The fire, which broke out at 2.30am, happened a few hours after the pizza shop on the Great Northern Highway was featured in a Nine News report on Sunday night highlighting how the owner Roko Antich owed staff and suppliers more than $50,000 in unpaid wages and bills.
It was quite a blaze: it took firefighters until 4.30am to put it out.
The shop was completely destroyed leaving an estimated $700,000 worth of damage.
Detectives did preliminary investigations and then briefed building owner Pat Connelly, who has owned the premises for 15 years.
“I heard about the fire about half past four this morning; someone down the road rang me,” Connolly told the local newspaper.
Employees, builders, contractors and suppliers told Nine News he owes them money totally some $50,000. The claims range from a few hundred dollars to thousands. Antich claims he does not have the money.
Antich opened Uncle Tony’s Pizza last May. His mediator Rosemary Laws, claims he was bullied out of Bullsbrook — costing 20 people their jobs.
Antich told Nine News he was the victim in all of this and said he did not have the income.
He apologised to staff members.
“I am very sorry for the staff members who have been put down’’ he told Nine News. “I feel for them”.
Laws told Nine News she was going through who was owed what. Anyone who had a grievance, she said, could take legal action.
15th March 2016
