BREA : Restaurateur Wasn’t Paid for Forced Move

A California Department of Transportation audit has revealed that a former Brea restaurant owner never received the relocation benefits that the city owed him after his business was forced to move in 1987 to make way for a road widening set for this summer.

Officials aren’t sure how much restaurateur Joseph Veltri is owed, but in any event, Veltri said, “It’s money that I could have used.”

His former business, Veltri’s Restaurant on South Brea Boulevard, went out of business in 1991, four years after he moved it to Yorba Linda from Brea.

Caltrans officials plan to begin the widening of Imperial Highway in Brea this summer.

Transportation officials were recently reviewing files on the project when they discovered that Veltri never received any relocation benefits from the city as required by state law.

“Upon investigation we discovered that (the relocation funds) had been overlooked,” said Ralph Neal, a deputy district director for Caltrans.

Veltri said he was told when he moved his business that he was not eligible for relocation funds. Officials said they aren’t sure what Veltri may have been told at the time.

Caltrans is continuing its review to make sure that all the businesses relocated for the project received full relocation benefits, Neal said.