LI Wedding Venue Owner, Manager Face Labor Trafficking Charges

The former owner and manager of Thatched Cottage in Centerport were arrested Monday morning for luring immigrants to the United States and forcing them to work at their catering hall under horrible conditions, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Eastern District of New York.

Ralph Colamussi, of East Northport, and Roberto Villanueva, of Glen Head, were indicted Monday in federal court in Central Islip on charges that include conspiring to engage in forced labor of immigrants, visa fraud, fraud in foreign labor contracting and fraudulent inducement of aliens to enter and remain in the United States in violation of law.

“As alleged, Colamussi and Villanueva lured immigrants from the Philippines to the United States with false promises regarding jobs and overtime pay in order to line their own pockets at the expense of the victims,” Acting United States Attorney Bridget M. Rohde said in a statement.

Colamussi is the former owner and operator of Thatched Cottage, which was a popular wedding venue located at 445 E Main St. in Centerport before it closed its doors in 2014. He was also the owner and operator of the Jellyfish Restaurant, a popular bar located next to the Thatched Cottage. Villanueva supervised and managed the workers in terms of their housing, transportation and visas, according to the indictment.

From August 2008 to March 2013, Villanueva and Colamussi recruited employees from the Philippines by falsely promising them jobs with overtime pay as waiters, servers, cooks, chefs and more, officials say. These employees were then illegally made to pay Villanueva and Colamussi money in advance to qualify for the visa interview in the United States and told to conceal those payments from the United States Department of State, officials say.

“This case is an example of ruthless labor trafficking hiding in plain sight,” Angel M. Melendez, Special Agent-in-Charge, said. “These individuals allegedly committed visa fraud while forcing people to work in their catering hall under horrible conditions, in what seemed to be an inescapable situation.”

According to the U.S. Attorney, the workers were brought to the United States on H-2B visas that expired shortly after their arrival. They were then allegedly told by Colamussi and Villanueva to apply for student visas and to tell officials they intended to attend school full-time and had sufficient resources to support themselves during school.

Colamussi and Villanueva would oftentimes deposit funds in the workers’ bank accounts to make it appear like they had sufficient funds and would then withdrew the funds once the student visas were approved, officials say. The workers continued to work for Colamussi and Villanueva during their student visas, but would attend school one day a week, officials say.

Once brought to the United States, officials say the employees were forced to:

• Work without overtime and with lower than promised wages.
• Care for Colamussi’s relatives, including his father.
• Perform construction work at the Jellyfish Restaurant.

Colamussi and Villanueva threatened to report the workers to immigration authorities if they objected to performing certain jobs or working consecutive shifts, officials say.

Colamussi also allegedly had many workers whose visas had expired living in the basement of his East Northport home and working for him off the books.

If convicted, Colamussi and Villanueva face a maximum of 20 years in prison for forced labor and conspiracy to commit force labor, 10 years for visa fraud and fraud in foreign labor contracting, and five years for conspiracy to commit visa fraud and inducement of an alien to illegally enter and reside in the United States.

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