Scamfluencers - The Cipriani Family: Bribes and Bellinis | 193

Episode Date: December 22, 2025

For nearly a century the Cipriani family has served celebrities, royalty, and cultural icons. Since opening their first restaurant in Venice in 1931, they’ve helped shape fine dining and invent dishes that became global classics. But as the Cipriani empire expanded, so did the scandals – including union busting, tax evasion, and alleged mob connections. Turns out the Cipriani recipe for success included a lot more than just glitz, glamor, and champagne.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Hey, scam influencers listeners. If you're as hooked on these jaw-dropping schemes as we are, you'll love Wondry Plus. Think of it as you're all access past the world of scams. Add-free episodes, early access, and exclusive deep dives that uncover even more shocking details. Don't just listen. Emmerse yourself in the chaos with Wondry Plus. Sarah, are you a restaurant person? Like, when you visit New York, do you try to eat at all the trendy places in the city? You know what? I feel very overwhelmed by trendiness in general. So I feel like I kind of just go where people tell me to. But I do like a great meal. Okay, well, what do you know about Chippriani?

I know it by name. I know it's like kind of a fancy, tacky place for the rich and famous. Am I correct? Yeah, I don't think that's wrong. Well, Sarah, you're super lucky because today we actually have a table at Chippriani, the best one in the house, and it's all on me. So pour yourself a $27 glass of red wine and tuck into your Chilean sea bass will I tell you the real history

of this international restaurant dynasty. It's August 1987, and Giuseppe Chippriani is nervously pacing his Manhattan apartment phone in hand. Giuseppe is a dashing 22-year-old and the manager of Harry Chippriani, the acclaimed New York City restaurant. He's urgently trying to reach his father

and co-manager, Aurego. The Chippriani's aren't just any restaurant Josepe's grandfather founded the legendary Italian watering hole Harry's Bar in Venice, Italy. Harry's has become a cultural institution, where history, literature, art, and Venetian cuisine all come together. And for more than 50 years, it's been a favorite destination for elites and intellectuals from all around the world. The family opened their second restaurant, Harry Chippriani, two years ago, as an almost exact replica of the Venetian original. It was an immediate hit, and it allowed to be a little bit. the Chippriani's to bring their family legacy across the Atlantic.

The restaurant is located on the ground floor of a luxe hotel on 5th Avenue overlooking Central Park, but not for long. Because today, Giuseppe is calling his father to tell him that they've just been kicked out as managers. As Giuseppe is explaining everything to his dad, a truck pulls up outside of the 5th Avenue hotspot. Men in suits get out. They've been sent by the restaurant's investors. They quickly line up to block the back office telephones, the elevators, the kitchen, and the doors. Confused staffers call Giuseppe and tell him to get down here, staff. When Giuseppe finally arrives at the restaurant, he's surprised to find men obstructing the entrance.

A shoving match ensues, and the men prevent him from entering. New York Magazine later calls this, quote, First hostile takeover of a kitchen in the annals of cuisine. You know, you got to wonder how that ends up happening with a restaurant. restaurant. It's not that serious. Yeah, like, it's not war. They're so serious in food. It's a restaurant. Relax. Well, inside, the men seize credit card machines and box-up menus.

The eponymous Harry Chippriani sign is acid-washed from the front door and replaced with a new name, Tino Fontana. But this blow to the Chippriani's won't keep them down for long. In fact, they're more inspired than ever to show that they are the name for exclusive fine dining in New York City and the world. The Chippriani's have built their legacy on charm, spectacle, and confidence, the kind that can make almost anything seem possible. But as their empire grows, that same mix of glamour and audacity will lead them into a world

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to speak to an advisor free of charge. BetMGM operates pursuant to an operating agreement with Eye Gaming Ontario. Hi, I'm Lindsay Graham, the host of Wondry's American Scandal. In our latest series, three teenage boys from West Memphis, Arkansas are accused of a vicious triple homicide. There's no real evidence linking them to the crime except rumor and fear, and that'll be enough to convict them. Listen to American Scandal on the Wondry app or wherever you get your podcasts. From Wondery, I'm Sachi Cole, and I'm Sarah Hagee, and this is Scamfluencers.

For nearly a century, I won't ever learn my lesson to my speaker's to a loving, I feel like a legend. For nearly a century, the Chipriani family has served celebrities, royalty, and cultural icons.

It all began in 1931 with Harry's bar in Venice, where Giuseppe Sr. revolutionized fine dining and invented classics we still eat today. By the 2000s, the Chipriani name

was splashed across restaurants, private clubs, and even hotels, from Italy to New York to Dubai. But in their quest to expand, Giuseppe's descendants discover that in New York City, charm and legacy only get you so far. The Chippriani name will go from associations with hobnobbing elites to union-busting, tax evasion, and working with the mob.

There's no lengths the family won't go because, after all, they know. It's all in the name. This is the Chippriani family, bribes and bellinis. Before we dive into the Chippriani family scandals, we need to go back to the 20th century, to the man who started it all. Giuseppe Sr. was born in Verona, Italy, in 1900. To pull the family out of poverty,

his father moved his wife and eight children to Germany when Giuseppe was a toddler. His father worked as a bricklayer while his mother opened their rented home to borders. She'd offer a room, plus something extra, a liter of beer for each day they stayed. Giuseppe and his siblings learned a lot from their mother's hospitality. She struck a delicate balance between being a kind host

and not letting herself be pushed around. Giuseppe's family can't afford to send him to secondary school. So, when he's 12 years old, he takes a job in a watch factory, where he develops a love of precision and order. Two years later, in 1914, the First World War begins, so he and his family returned to Verona. Thanks to the war, adult men have left the workforce to fight, So even though he's only 14 years old, Giuseppe easily finds a job as a pastry chef.

He applies the same precision he learned at the watch factory to make thousands of pastries a day. He falls in love with making people happy and seeing customers enjoy his work. It reminds him of the way his mother took care of their borders in Germany. And he's determined to chase this feeling forever. By 18, Giuseppe is traveling across Italy and France, working in hotels and learning everything he can about hospitality and kitchens. Over the next eight years, one lesson becomes clear to him. Take care of the customer first and foremost.

In his eyes, it's less about impressing the clientele and more about genuinely loving them. When Giuseppe is 26, he marries a woman named Julieta, who he met while waiting tables. They settle in Venice and Harry Tens bar at the Hotel Europa, where he's rarely without his white suit jacket and black tie. Sarah, take a look at this picture of Giuseppe in his happy place, behind the bar.

So this is the black and white photo of him behind a bar. There's like the old school seltzery thing in front of him and he looks happy, you know, he's wearing his white coat, black tie. He looks like he's happy to serve. Medicine man, you know?

Well, three years later, in the summer of 1929, Giuseppe meets someone who completely changes his life. Harry Pickering, a wealthy young Sion from Boston. Harry's a regular at Giuseppe's bar, even though he came to Italy to treat his alcoholism.

Over the next two months, Giuseppe and Harry strike up a friendship. But one day, Giuseppe notices that Harry isn't drinking as much. When he asks why, Harry tells him he had a fight with his aunt who he'd been traveling with. She left him stranded in Italy with very little money. Giuseppe offers to help. So Harry tells him what he needs. Money to pay for his hotel, his shipwright home, his tab,

and one last dry martini. So Giuseppe gives him 10,000 lira, nearly five grand in today's money. It's a big sum for a bartender, but Giuseppe is all about hospitality. And he trusts Harry will return the favor someday. I really believe that if you're lending someone money, you have to go into that knowing that you might not ever get it back. Yeah. And I do feel like Giuseppe is never going to get this back.

Okay, well, Sarah, surprisingly, their handshake agreement pays off. Two years later, Harry returns to Venice on a cold February morning. He repays the loan, plus an additional $40,000 lira. And he's got an idea for what to do with the extra cash. He and Giuseppe should open a bar together. Harry's bar opens on May 13, 1931. It's the beginning of what will become a future hospitality empire. And it marks the last time success in the Chippriani family will ever feel simple.

In the fall of 1950, one of Giuseppe's favorite customers enters Harry's for lunch, the Venetian countess Amalia Nani-Mosanigo. She floats to her table in a high-neck black dress with her hair pinned up in a bun. Amalia waves Giuseppe over and tells him that her doctors have placed her on a strict diet. For the next few weeks, she can't eat cooked meat. She asks if he can dream up a meal that fits her new diet

and is delicious. He marches into the kitchen, and 15 minutes later, Amalia and the world are introduced to beef Carpaccio. It is really crazy to think about beef Carpaccio being introduced to the world because I feel like it's just one of those things that has always been around. Especially now, I don't think you can go to, like, a nice restaurant without seeing a Carpaccio on the menu. I know, especially a New York restaurant, right?

Yeah. Well, Giuseppe named the dish after the Venetian artist Vittore Carpaccio. Apparently, he was inspired by the food. the painter's use of vibrant reds and whites. The dish consists of paper-thin slices of raw filet mignon drizzled with a lemony, mayonnaise-based sauce. But that's not Giuseppe's only culinary creation. He also created a popular brunch cocktail, the bellini.

Sarah, have you ever had a bologna? You know, I don't drink. When would I have had a bologna? But even a non-alcoholic boulini, have you ever had one? You know what? I worked at Bath and Body Works, and there was a boulini. candle that, you know, I just, I can't really smell bellini anymore, you know? Yeah. I mean, that's basically what it's like to drink one. A bolini is a sweet, fizzy drink

made with prosceco and white peach puree. Giuseppe came up with the drink in 1948 after being inspired by another Venetian painter Giovanni Bellini. Harry's bar was an immediate success, and in 1932, Giuseppe and Julieta welcomed a son named Arico, or, Harry in English. Life is pretty sweet, until World War II begins. When Germans occupy Venice, Harry's bar is briefly taken over by fascists and used as a mess hall for Mussolini's Navy. After the war, the bar becomes a meeting spot for the rich and famous.

International luminaries are amongst the bar's regulars. Orson Wells, Truman Capote, and Maria Collis. And, most notably, Ernest Hemingway, who spends many evenings at his little corner table filling pages of his notebooks. Harry's bar is actually written into one of his novels. Sarah, can you read this excerpt from across the river and into the trees? Yes, it says,

Contessa is not at home, my colonel, he said. They believe you might find her at Harry's. You find everything on earth at Harry's. Yes, my colonel, except possibly happiness. I'll damn well find happiness too, the colonel assured him. Happiness, as you know, is a movable feast. It's kind of exciting thinking, about this, like if I was around at this time, because clearly these are, you know, world famous

people, very influential. But, you know, these people just have no idea how much longer this will stay in history. Yeah, it's just a bar. Yeah, it's just a bar. And now it's in a book and we're talking about it. How many years later? On our podcast, on our digital radio product. It's a full circle moment for Hemingway, really. Well, in 1957, nearly 30 years after Harry's bar, opened, Giuseppe decides to retire. He hands the family business to his son, Orygo. Arigo is now 25 years old, with a receding hairline and a pension for double-breasted suits. Giuseppe is pleasantly surprised to see that his son is a natural manager. Every night, Arrigo calls his father to give him a progress report, assuring him that

Harry's is thriving, just as he left it. One of the regulars at the bar during this time is Rupert Guinness, a British aristocrat and the head of the Guinness Beer family. Rupert's a big investor. So that winter, when he hears Giuseppe talking about his dream of building a hotel and a piece of land he purchased on the island of Judeca, he decides to help. The hotel Chippriani opens in 1958, and it embodies the same luxury and simple comforts Giuseppe is known for.

This sparks a years-long business partnership between the two men and another hotel. In 1962, Rupert opens the Hotel Villa Chippriani in a solo Italy and hires Giuseppe to manage it. But when Rupert dies five years later, so does the gentleman's agreement he had with Giuseppe. Despite their nine-year partnership, the Guinness Airs renege on their father's handshake deal by blocking any monetary split of the joint ventures.

It's a crushing blow to Giuseppe. Because he didn't put up any money to open the hotels, he's forced to sell his shares. That must be so disappointing where things are just going so well for you and you think, of course, this will always work, It's working for everyone. Again, his family is one of their word,

and then for it to just fall through is terrible, really. Yeah, it's pretty devastating. Well, Giuseppe dies in 1980 at 80 years old. And five years later, the Chippriani's get an unexpected opportunity, a chance to open a restaurant in New York City. The New York dining scene is notoriously high risk, but beautiful diamonds are formed under intense pressure, and the Chippriani's are ready to spark.

It's May 1985 in Venice. O'rigo, now 53 years old, is sitting in his home office overlooking the Adriatic Sea. His days are packed with running Harry's bar and raising his son Giuseppe Jr., who we will call junior for the rest of the story. Unlike his enterprising father, Arrigo tends to go with the flow until a phone call changes everything. On the line is Lord Charles Forte, the owner of Trust House Forte, a British hotel in catering group. Charles is 77 years old with a graying mustache. He's an Italian hotelier and a

restaurateur based in London, and he has a proposition for a rego. Would the Chippriani's like to join him as he expands his company to the U.S.? Charles pitches his idea, a Harry's bar-style restaurant in the lobby of a swanky Fifth Avenue Hotel. Trusthouse Forte is trying to take over management of the hotel, and they think the illustrious Harry name could help seal the deal. Charles flies O'Rego to New York to see the space and when O'rigo lays eyes on the location near Central Park, he's sold. It's exactly what his father would have wanted.

Plans are drawn up to recreate Harry's in New York, but O'Rigo refuses to call it Harry's bar. He wants to name it the copy. It's a wing to the restaurants that borrowed the Chippriani name but can't recreate its magic. After some back and forth, they finally agree on Harry Chippriani. And when it opens on November,

it's an instant hit. Just like Harry's bar, Harry Chippriani becomes a magnet for celebrities and socialites. Once things are running smoothly, O'rigo returns to Harry's in Venice, leaving the now 20-year-old junior behind to run their American restaurant.

I'm sure this 20-year-old will be able to run this restaurant. That is a crazy responsibility, a 20-year-old, even a super mature one who's grown up in the industry and knows all the stories and everything. That is a huge, huge, risk, especially considering what has happened to the family with bad business deals.

He's not even old enough to drink in New York. Yeah, but this was the past. You're right. Nobody was checking. No one was checking. Well, as the Chippriani name gains more traction, Arrigo and Jr. are constantly fielding proposals to open another New York location. But out of loyalty, Arrigo declines them. He wants to keep working with Charles. So Arrigo expects Charles to be thrilled when he approaches him with the idea for a new restaurant, this one inspired by his father's iconic creation, the Bellini. But Sarah, this is where the peachy prosceco gets sticky. The Fortes decide not to join Arrigo in opening Bellini. So, Arrigo does something his father never did. He opens the restaurant on his own. When the Fortes find out,

they accuse Arrigo of breaching their informal business agreement by opening Bellini without their consent. It turns out the Fortes have been frustrated with Arrigo for for some time. Despite the buzzy crowds, Harry Chippriani isn't profitable, partly due to Arrigo's hefty management fee of $450,000. So, in August of 1987,

they decide to remove Arrigo and Jr. from Harry's. This is the moment where we met Junior at the beginning of the story. The Chipriani's can only watch as the rebranded Tino Fontana restaurant takes over their space. But losing a restaurant is only the beginning. For the Chipriani's,

bigger battles are looming. And this time, the fight won't be with angry investors. It'll be with someone far scarier. A New York Times food critic. It's a September afternoon in 1987, and Brian Miller is strolling into Bellini's for lunch, along with two of his colleagues. Brian is in his 30s with well-groomed hair and tortoiseshell glasses.

He's the restaurant critic for the New York Times. On their way to the table, Junior intercepts them and declares, the cooks will not cook for you. Last year, Brian wrote a review of Harry Chippriani. He gave the restaurant zero stars and called the food, fair. The rating stung, but it was the review itself

that really angered the family. Sarah, can you read what Brian wrote? With delight. I love a good pan. He writes, Ernest Hemingway might feel ill at ease if he were to wander into the New York clone of his beloved Harry's bar in Venice.

Harry Chippriani benefits from the heart Hot dogs taste better at the ballpark syndrome. In a less electrified setting, I suspect, some of the mundane dishes here might not elicit such smiles from patrons. This is not the Harry's Bar of literary fame. Ooh, that is so cutting, especially if you open a restaurant

and your entire legacy is hospitality and food. It's like, this is not it. It doesn't have the charm. This sucks. Yeah, it's pretty brutal. But the Chippriani seemed to have learned one lesson from the Forte's betrayal, fight fire with fire. So, Arrigo retaliated by buying ad space in the Times

and publishing an open letter titled, Dear Food Editor. It was clearly aimed at Brian, and the ad ripped into him and ended with, quote, I do hope that you will postpone writing about my restaurant for a long time. Brian eventually responded, but not with a review. He got the scoop on the Chippriani's being kicked out of their restaurant and shared the dirty details on the front page of the New York Times. You really got to hand it to Brian.

I mean, what more could he say other than these people got kicked out of their own freaking restaurant? That's journalism, baby. Even though Brian has been denied service at Bellini, he's not deterred. Over the next three weeks, he returns to Bellini twice in disguise. And we don't know what he wore, but he manages to sample nearly 30 different dishes. and he is not impressed. Sarah, are you ready to read another pan? Oh, yes.

Brian writes that at Bellini, the pricey cafe food ranges from the dismal to the acceptable. Services boorish and slapdash. Bellini has all the charm of a family restaurant in a shopping mall. And then he goes on to add that one of the house specials should be served with a television set for it is a dead ringer for a TV dinner, overcooked noodles in a lava-like grass.

I mean, it's crazy because this is tail as old as time. How many, quote, unquote, Italian restaurants are there that try and trade off the old world vibe for kind of crappy food that does taste like microwaved dinner? Yeah, seen it a thousand times. Well, after other food critics pan the restaurant, Arrigo revamps the menu and service. And in September 1990, Brian checks out Bellini again. And he's pleasantly surprised to find that the food. food and service have improved, although he notes it's still a pricey dining experience.

While O'rigo may have reached a detente with New York City's most savage critic, a new challenge is already waiting for him, bringing his original New York restaurant back from the brink. It's 1990, and Orygo is speaking with the investors who once ousted him. They have a desperate plea. Will he come back and reopen Harry Chippriani? After they kicked O'Rego and Jr. out, the in in his own. investors installed a new manager for the bargain price of $100,000. But the new restaurant was never able to match Harry Chippriani's dazzle or profits.

Guests were confused by the changes, with designer Diane von Furstenberg complaining about her risotto, saying, The rice isn't the same. Other guests felt similarly. According to Arigo, Tino Fontana was doing only 15 covers a day, while Harry's had previously been doing 300. ARIGO is a truly petty king. So when he gets the call from the investors, he declines the offer. But Junior, who's now a hot-headed 25-year-old, won't let him. He tells his father, quote,

If you don't go back, I'm going to kill you. I feel like ARIGO really comes from a place of pride and heritage and defending his family name, while Junior is kind of like, we're in business, just get this done. Like, we can't think about that anymore. Yeah, and Junior is starting to take more and more control. After Harry Tripriani reopens in 1991, Junior urges O'Rigo to be more aggressive. He often tells his dad, quote,

Our strength is our name. And he says that if they want to grow, they need to start forcing people to play by their rules. While O'Rigo remains focused on the food and hospitality, his son chases celebrity, determined to fill the restaurant with glitterati. Junior's fixation with celebrity propels him to become a social icon. A critic told the New York Post, quote, they were starfuckers and when anyone with star power came to the door, everybody fell to their knees. But even with celebrity regulars, Junior becomes the real star of the show. And his

obsession with the spotlight will soon teach him that Bellini's and Buzz can't protect you when the law catches up. In 1993, three eight-year-old boys were brutal. murdered in West Memphis, Arkansas. As the small-town local police struggled to solve the crime, rumors soon spread that the killings were the work of a satanic cult. Suspicion landed on three local teenagers, but there was no real evidence linking them to the murders. Still, that would not protect them. Hi, I'm Lindsay Graham, the host of Wondry Show American Scandal. We bring to life some of the biggest controversies in U.S. history, presidential lies, environmental disasters, corporate fraud.

In our latest series, three teenage boys are falsely accused of a vicious triple homicide, but their story doesn't end with their trials or convictions. Instead, their plight will capture the imagination of the entire country and spark a campaign for justice that will last for almost two decades. Follow American Scandal on the Wondria, or wherever you get your podcasts. You can binge all episodes of American Scandal, the West Memphis 3, early and ad-free right now on Wondry Plus. It's spring in 1996 and 31-year-old Giuseppe Jr. is ready to make his mark on New York City.

The recently opened Chipriani downtown is the third family eatery in the city, and it's his. Junior put his personal spin on it. It's more casual, more youthful. It showcases abstract art by Brooklyn artists while still serving Harry's Bar classics. And once again, it's a hit. Over the past decade, Junior got married and had two sons, but the marriage didn't last because Junior can't slow down. He even took time off from the restaurants to race Formula 3,000 cars, but he didn't see a future in the world of fire-resistant suits and motor oil,

so he returned to the family business. When he's 34 years old, Junior becomes the head of Chippriani International, but he still wants more. He impulsively buys 55 Wall Street in New York's financial district. Its grand banquet setting inspires him to open another restaurant with a 140-room Chippriani hotel upstairs. Arigo warns him that this might be too much too fast, but Junior's confident that he can make it work.

I just feel like people are so risky when it comes to business, and I feel like I have no idea if it will work out or not. Probably will, knowing how lucky these people get. Well, at first, Junior is right. Big names pack the new property, and before long, it's another smash hit for the Chippriani Empire. With money pouring in, Junior sees endless opportunities for his family name.

But to feed his ambition, he decides to start doing business a little differently. This is where the Chippriani lore gets a little tricky. In the late 90s, Arrigo established Chippriani S.A., an Italian hotel and leisure company based in Luxembourg. The company owns and operates restaurants and clubs around the world, including Harry's bar in Venice.

But most importantly, it controls the rights to the Chippriani name and their trademark properties. In the U.S., however, there's a separate Chippriani brand, Chippriani USA. It's a subsidiary of Chippriani S.A. run by Junior. The company pays a percentage of its sales to the parent company for the right to use the Chipriani name. But somehow, the reported payments are never actually made. So Chippriani USA's income is higher than it reports on its tax returns. With this tax dodge and the Chippriani brand growing in popularity, Junior is ready to expand again.

And then opportunity comes calling, a chance to take over a legendary Midtown landmark called The Rainbow Room. Junior's about to chase the rainbow hard, but this dream gig will quickly become a nightmare. It's just before Christmas, 1998, and Peter Ward is fielding calls at the nightmar. the local six union hall. Peter's 40 years old, clean-cut and handsome with a cleft chin.

He's the business manager of the union, which represents workers in the hospitality and service industries. His phone has been blowing up all morning with calls from former union employees of the Rainbow Room. 250 of them have been fired by the club's new management, Jr. The labor war started a few weeks ago when Junior took over the venue, located on the 65th floor of Rockefeller Center.

The building's owners were, excited for the Chippriani name to bring some much-needed buzz to the venerable Rainbow Room. Junior reimagined the space and made it more exclusive. While the Rainbow Room used to be open to the public, it's now only accessible three days out of the month. The rest of the time, it operates as a private club. Real estate developers wonder how Junior will afford the $3 million a year lease. But he's confident he'll succeed. He'll just replace the local six union workers with non-union employees.

By his estimates, a union contract will eat up half of his revenue and strangle his business. At the local six, Peter makes a plan to take on the Chippriani's. Sarah, can you read what he said in January 1999? Yeah, he says, we'll have a picket line in front of the rainbow room for a hundred years if that's what it takes. Oh, okay, so this is like full-on war at this point. Yeah, it's union busting. It's gross. Well, Junior's reputation takes a hit, and he is. is hemorrhaging money. So he offers a deal. He'll sign a union contract at the Rainbow Room

if the union agrees to slash the wages and benefits at Harry Chibriani in half. Peter's response? A big, fat, no. Frustrated, Junior makes a deal with the local 8-10 of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. They're suspected of taking bribes in return for sweetheart contracts. If he signs with them, he thinks he can force the local six union to stop picketing his restaurants. But Peter doesn't back down. And out of solidarity, union-compliant companies like General Motors and HBO cancel their events at Chippriani restaurants. These cancellations cost Jr. tens of thousands of dollars. And in May 1999, the Chippriani sued the union and file for bankruptcy protection.

Even with the bad press, the picket lines, and the Union Fury, Jr. manages to keep the Rainbow Room, Harry Chippriani, and the catering hall on 42nd Street open. but his celebrity patrons are starting to take notice. Regulars like Paul Newman, JFK Jr., Leonardo DiCaprio, and Martin Scorsese refused to cross the lines. Julia Roberts, however, Waltz is right along through. And now that the union has come between junior and his celebrity pals, well, that's a bridge too far. Yeah, once something becomes public that way,

it can kind of tarnish someone's name as being a union buster and crossing a picket line. And it's like, that is, you know, the line a lot of people just can't cross. Yeah. When it's just so obvious and public that way. Yeah, I can't get away with it. Well, in mid-August, the Chippriani's abruptly dismissed their labor lawyers and start meaningful negotiations with the restaurant workers' union.

By the end of the month, Junior tentatively approves a six-year contract with the local six union. The labor war may be ending, but the Chippriani's reputation has taken a serious hit. And they're about to learn just how many. scandals it takes before an empire starts to crack. It's 2002 and Junior's in the backseat of a private car on his way to his newest restaurant opening, the Chippriani Dolce at Grand Central. By 2004, the Chippriennies have nine locations across New York, Europe, and Asia. But his ambitions are still growing, so he turns his attention to luxury real estate.

His battle with the union seems to have Sauer Jr. on the Everyman. He's now focused on catering to. and working with the Uber wealthy. He buys out his partner at 55 Wall Street where there's already a Chippriani restaurant and hotel. He converts the hotel rooms into condominiums and calls them the Chippriani Club residences. Then he decides to go after Pier 57,

a prime stretch of waterfront real estate on the Hudson River. After an intense 18-month battle with rival developers, Junior wins a bid to redevelop the pier in 2005. But a rival investor named, Roland Betts isn't happy about Junior's winning bid. Roland's the guy behind Chelsea Pierce. He's a major player in New York with ties to George W. Bush and other powerful politicians. It's not clear if Roland had a hand in what happened next, but a few months after Junior wins the bid,

skeletons from his past suddenly come to light. Remember the union protests back in 1999? Well, to help fight them off, Jr. turned to a mafia turncoat named Michael D. Leonardo. In his 2004 testimony against the Gambino crime family, Michael admits that Junior, quote, wanted to know if they could keep the unions off his back. With mounting bad press, Junior starts feeling the pressure. So he withdraws his bid for Pier 57.

But this retreat only creates more problems for him and his family. And it's only a matter of time before his name comes up in a second mob trial. It's November 2005, and Robert Morgan, is sitting in his office in lower Manhattan. At 86 years old, with thinning white hair and over four decades of public service, the city's district attorney has seen it all. But the letter on his desk still catches his attention. It's anonymous, and it accuses the Chippriani family of running a massive tax evasion scheme.

Robert's already familiar with the Chippriani name. Six years ago, his boss, the New York State's Attorney General, brought charges against them for sex-based discrimination. But this letter paints a more serious picture, alleging that since the late 90s, the Chippriani's have been underreporting earnings and dodging millions of dollars in tax payments. I mean, it's crazy when they think their biggest problems are celebrities

and who gets into the restaurant, how much money they're making. Meanwhile, doing some crazy tax dodging. I know. And by July of 2007, Robert has enough evidence to go after Junior and Arrigo. On the morning of the arraignment, the two men step outside the courthouse and smile for the paparazzi.

After nearly a century of hosting the world's elites, the Chippriannis have now become the headline. And this time, charm and champagne won't be enough to get them off the hook. In July of, In the 2007, Arego and Jr. are officially charged with tax evasion. They stand accused of hiding $3.5 million in state and city taxes over a period of six years beginning in 1998.

While Junior's been charged with a misdemeanor, Arrigo is facing a felony tax charge because his company, Chippriani S.A., was the head of the scheme. Arrigo is now 75 years old, and he and Jr. both plead guilty. To avoid jail time, they take a plea deal and agree to pay $10 million. in restitution and penalties. In addition to the fine, Arrigo is sentenced to conditional discharge for three years, which means he's free to return home to Italy.

Junior gets sentenced to three years' probation and also leaves New York. But as a condition of the plea deal, Robert gives the men a big win. He allows them to keep their liquor licenses. Well, this is really not that bad, and it's especially not bad because if they lost their liquor licenses,

they just couldn't exist at all as restaurants. Like, that is the most important thing for them, right? Yeah, that's true. But even though they will be able to keep the empire they've built, reports are beginning to surface about vendors and contractors suing for unpaid bills. Arrigo says they've been told that if they return to America, they would be locked up.

So Arrigo stays in Venice while Junior eventually moves to Uruguay. He tells Vanity Fair he's living abroad so he can expand their customer base in new countries, But maybe it's because Uruguay imposes no wealth or inheritance taxes. The Chippriani seemed to have dodged a bullet, even though they're now officially felons. Their New York restaurants are all still running and pulling in a profit. But that changes in 2008 when the economic crisis hits the city. New Yorkers start cutting fine dining out of their budgets,

and even though they were allowed to keep their liquor licenses, they're about to face a fight on that front too. A Chippriani restaurant is nothing without a bolini. And after all their losses, this one threatens to hit the hardest. In May of 2008, Daniel Boyle is preparing to confiscate some liquor licenses. He's the chairman of the New York State Liquor Authority, and today he's targeting all of the Chippriani properties in New York. Daniel is a former police chief and a rough-talking stickler for the rules.

Felons are barred from holding New York State liquor licenses. So even though the Manhattan DA said it was okay, Daniel doesn't think that Chippriani should get special treatment. So he launches an investigation to determine if the Chippriani conviction proves they lack the moral character needed for a license. You know, I do feel like they were probably given that exemption because it would be beneficial for the Manhattan DA somehow.

But I feel like this new guy is kind of like, I don't care, I'm going to get them finally, like no more exemptions or like special circumstances, right? Yeah, exactly. And as Daniel moves to strip all, all nine Chipriani liquor licenses, he's approached by a top aide to New York Governor David Patterson. The aide tries to intimidate him into accepting a half a million dollar settlement in lieu of yanking the licenses. It just so happens that Chipriani's are close friends with Governor Patterson.

Weird coincidence, right? Daniel refuses, but he's outvoted by fellow liquor board members in favor of the Chippriani's. In the end, the Chippriamis pay the settlement fee and retain their licenses. But, a few months later, the Chippianis are finally dealt a blow that they can't buy their way out of. In January 2009, they lose their lease on the Rainbow Room for failing to pay millions in rent, and they have to be out in a matter of days. Turns out, exclusivity isn't always the answer. Once Junior barred the public from visiting in favor of making the space more elite, it was no longer the high-end tourist attraction it had been for more than 90 years.

Yeah, I mean, it's hard sometimes for businesses to be like, we're exclusive, but also we need to make money and have a lot of different kinds of people show up. And I see how, you know, by 2009, with all this controversy and everything going on with them, people are just kind of like, I don't really care. Yeah. If Junior had just stuck to what the Chipprianians were known for, maybe things would have turned out differently. But his ambitious plans and obsession with wealth and celebrity betrayed the legacy his grandfather built, a simple Venetian bar where everybody could feel like a somebody. Despite the behind-the-scenes drama and legal trouble, the Chippriani name is still booming. Most customers either don't know or don't seem to care about their past scandals.

So while O'Rigo is living out his golden years in Italy, his grandsons continue to carry on the family's legacy. In 2021, one of them opened Casa Chippriani, a select members-only club and hotel in lower Manhattan. Membership costs a cool $4,000 a year. According to the New York Post, it's one of Taylor Swift's favorite places to eat. As of 2025, Jr. is still living in Uruguay. He's quadrupled down on real estate for the super wealthy, developing luxury condos in West Palm and Miami, clubs in Madrid in Tokyo, and restaurants in Dubai.

He's currently in the midst of building Uruguay's most sophisticated resort development, which will, of course, bear the Chippriani name. Above all else, he's dedicated his career to making sure the rich and famous have spaces to mingle away from the common people. The Chippriani name may have endured, but nothing is as powerful as exclusivity. Sarah, did this make you want to go have some beef, Carpaccio, with a bellini, perhaps at a restaurant where you are seen to be seen? I would want nothing more. It is really crazy to think of this family's legacy and the stuff they come. kind of made popular and invented.

And this grandson coming from a name and being named after his incredible grandfather, and I just think it could really get to someone's head when that's kind of all they know and all that's important to them. And like many episodes and many stories, the fraud wasn't really necessary, but they did it. Yeah, they did it.

It was so needless. People really liked the product. They liked the restaurant. They like the vibe. Like, they could have really done this a little more straightforward. Oh, big time. Or maybe it is a story about, like, how expensive and impossible it is to turn a profit in a New York City restaurant.

Well, I think people who own restaurants and especially those who maybe don't want a ton of investors, even if they are super popular and influential, it is so hard to make money. Yeah. That, you know, you just, you kind of have to do all these things you really don't want to do. Do you have to scam necessarily? I don't think so. And also, like, people who are important at exclusive restaurants are also often quite cheap and expect a lot of free shit. So I do wonder how that business model works out where it's like, oh, more people are going to want to come if so-and-so shows up, but also that person probably has a crazy tab because they expect things for free. It just seems so rough. I don't know how people open restaurants. I just don't. This also feels like a story that's, like, very much about Men who are trying to keep up, like, their father's legacies. And it's not enough for them to do as well or maybe just a little less.

Yeah. They have to do more. And so they find ways to lie into it. I do think there are a lot of people who overvalue legacy in terms of, like, how the real world works, where it almost turns into an entitlement. Like, yes, it is incredibly impressive what this family has managed to do. But the world continues. And maybe it's not enough to have. come up with Carpaccio. It is really an interesting story about like the first generation builds,

the second spends, and the third squanders it because it is like all the air has kept fucking up these deals. Oh, for sure. They didn't have the old school trust that their grandfathers did. Yes, of course. And it's like, I do think it is that kind of like old world mentality of importance and legacy and like this is all we have. All we have is our name. But it's like, again, it's business as a cutthroat world. Sarah, I want you to know that I would always do fraud under your name, proudly. Um, I wouldn't for you. Oh, necessarily.

No, I mean, I would do the fraud so everybody was like, oh, the Sarah Haggy fraud. I'd be like, yeah, that. Oh, okay. Yeah. Sure. The Sarah Hagi Ponzi scheme. I'll take that. Do you think if I keep saying these words, they'll, like, start tricking, like, the Google AI results and then people will think that you did one?

Sarah Hagi Ponsie scheme. Sarah Hagi, Mark to Market, investing scheme. Sarah Hagi and Ron. Sarah Haggy and Ron. Sarah Haggy and Ron. Is it working? Yep. Yep.

It's going to happen. It's going to work. Loving scam influencers, get exclusive episodes and early access to new ones all ad-free on Wondry Plus. Join now in the Wendry app, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify. Before you go, help us out by taking a quick survey at Wendry.com slash survey. This is the Chippriani family, bribes, and bellini's. I'm Sachi Cole.

And I'm Sarah Hagee. If you have a tip for us on a story that you think we should cover, please email us at scamfluencers at Wondery.com. We use many sources in our research. A few that were particularly helpful were The Trouble with Harry's by Mark Seal and Vanity Fair, Harry's Bar, The Life and Times of the Legendary Venice Landmark

by Arrigo Chibriani, and reporting by the New York Times. Tiff Williams wrote this episode. Additional writing by us, Sachi Cole and Sarah Haggy. Olivia Briley is our story editor. Fact-checking by Kalina Newman. Sound design by James Morgan. Additional audio assistance provided by Augustine Lim.

Our music supervisor is Scott Falasquez for Fries On Sync. Our managing producer is Desi Blaylock. Janine Cornelow and Stephanie Jens are our development producers. Our associate producer is Charlotte Miller. Our senior producers are Sarah Eni and Ginny Bloom. Our executive producers are Jenny Lauer Beckman and Marshall Louis. for Wondering.