More sordid details have emerged from that explosive $600 million discrimination lawsuit brought by four ex-employees of Hawaiian Tropic Zone, who accuse executives of ignoring their complaints against former manager Anthony Rakis. At a press conference yesterday, one of the plaintiffs, former manager Giulietta Consalvo—who accuses Rakis of drugging and raping her in the back of a cab in 2006—told reporters, "I want to see him pay criminally. Absolutely, he deserves his freedoms taken away from him. I went through the proper channels, through the corporate . . . chain of command that they tell you to do when you have such complaints...and my voice went unheard."
Consalvo claims that Rakis pleaded with her to keep silent after the incident, imploring her to "please think about my wife," who was pregnant at the time. Which reminded somebody at the Daily News how the couple (pictured) made headlines around the world seven years ago when they decided to go through with their wedding in Manhattan just four days after the September 11th attacks. (The nuptials were broadcast on an ABC special.) They now live in Alexandria, Virginia with their two daughters, and the Washington Post reports Rakis working at Pose Ultra Lounge outside D.C. He told reporters outside his home yesterday that he denies all the charges, which are even more scandalous than originally reported.
It's been known that the bikini-clad waitresses were provided with free or discount accommodations at an Upper East Side walk-up. But it's now emerged that Rakis and other male managers routinely visited, and presumably not to talk about the next day's specials. The suit also claims that Rakis "had sexual relations with at least one of those female employees, and even impregnated one of them." (Neither one is party to the lawsuit.) And big shot chef David Burke, who's accused of groping Consalvo and other female workers during a 2006 party, released a statement insisting he "is not a party defendant to the suit. His name appears gratuitously for reasons known only to plaintiffs’ attorneys. Chef Burke focused his limited time at the restaurant on creating menus and ensuring the food preparation was top quality."
