Mario Batali (who late last year criticized the financial industry for "toppling the way money is distributed" and compared Wall Street bankers to Hitler and Stalin) and business partner Joe Bastianich (who criticizes everything else) have agreed to pay $5.25 million to settle allegations that the duo cheated workers out of their tips. Workers sued the pair in July of 2010, accusing Batali and Bastianich of violating the Fair Labor Standards Act. According to the complaint (Capsolas v. Pasta Resources, Inc., 10-cv-05595, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York; Manhattan), Batali and Bastianich pocketed gratuities equal to as much as 5 percent of the nightly wine sales, didn't pay minimum wage and failed to pay overtime in order to supplement their own profits (sounds like toppling the way money is distributed). When the suit was first filed, Bastianich stated in an interview that he intended to "fight the lawsuit to every inch of the law, because we know we are right". RRRRRRRRRRight. Following a call by Wall Street executives to boycott their restaurants, Batali also apologized for his Hitler and Stalin comments.
