Bistro Pay Dispute Leaves a Bad Taste in Workers’ Mouths

Juan Montez has recently learned an unfortunate new phrase in the American business lexicon: rubber check.

As a former dishwasher for Larry’s Malibu Coast Bistro, Montez says he received numerous bad checks as payment for long hours doing dirty dishes in a sweaty kitchen of the upscale eatery. And owner Larry Berkowitz’s restaurant, Montez says, stills owes him more than $600 for weeks of labor.

The 39-year-old Montez is among two dozen people who picketed the tiny restaurant along Pacific Coast Highway on Friday evening--workers who say Berkowitz’s restaurant has refused to pay them as much as $3,000 each.

Many are Spanish-speaking laborers. Others are local teenagers who are now suspicious about fair play in the workplace. There is a single mother who says she had little choice but to keep working while keeping faith that the restaurant would eventually make good on its debt.

“But both his promises and his checks are worthless,” Montez said. “If you ask for your money, all you get is his middle finger.”

Berkowitz failed to return repeated telephone calls, and his wife, Gwendolyn, refused to comment on the claims.

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Former employees say anyone who complained to Berkowitz was either fired or threatened with claims that he would report them to police for stealing. To many Spanish-speakers, Berkowitz said he would summon the INS about their legal status, workers say.

This week, based on complaints by Montez and other workers, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department launched an investigation of the bistro, decorated with alabaster walls and faux-Roman columns, where you can buy a bottle of Dom Perignon champagne for $135.

Sheriff’s deputies may turn the case over to the state Department of Labor. “There are several trouble spots we’re looking into,” said Sheriff’s Lt. John O’Brien. “It sounds like this guy was a real poor businessman who took things a step further and didn’t even pay his people.”

There are other complaints against Berkowitz: This week, a court-appointed arbitrator awarded a local dog groomer nearly $14,000--money the groomer had lent Berkowitz that had not been repaid.

Although the money allegedly owed to the workers is considerably less, ex-bistro workers say their claims are no less emotional.

The nonprofit Malibu Community Labor Exchange Center, which matches temporary laborers and employers, stopped referring workers to Berkowitz’s bistro after several laborers complained that they weren’t paid.

“I called Larry and he said he’d pay the workers the following week,” said Labor Exchange director Oscar Mondragon. “He didn’t refuse to pay. He just never did it.”

Meanwhile, a woman who was once a regular customer of the bistro has turned the alleged debts into a personal crusade. After being alerted to the problem, Carol Capek has tracked down former employees for depositions to present to authorities. She and others have called private lawyers and prosecutors for advice.

“It’s a simple inhumanity that a man presumes to think he can prey on people in lesser situations and not be held accountable,” said Capek.

The few former bistro workers who have fought back within the system say they have gotten little satisfaction.

Last year, an Inglewood man successfully sued Berkowitz in Malibu small claims court, winning $4,320 in unpaid wages, according to court documents. But Hilario Rodriguez, who speaks little English, has yet to see any of the money, Capek said.

Waiter Craig Harwin worked four months at the bistro, during which time several paychecks allegedly bounced. He said that after Berkowitz made excuses for not paying him $1,000, he filed a complaint with the state Labor Commission.

Despite an upcoming formal hearing with state investigators, the 22-year-old Harwin doubts that Berkowitz will ever get his just desserts. “I’ll never collect my money,” he said. “A lot of people won’t see their money.

Sheriff’s deputies are investigating reports that Berkowitz has claimed clout with the department as a way of scaring off workers from seeking money owed them.

O’Brien said: “His restaurant is a popular eating spot among deputies--I’ve eaten there myself--but there is absolutely nothing to his claim of having sway with the department.”

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Jim Oppenheimer’s first job was at Berkowitz’s bistro. After the 16-year-old worked weekends as a busboy with only one allegedly bounced check to show for his efforts, he complained.

Then he was fired, without being paid the $100 owed him, he said.

Brian Oppenheimer said that when he went to the restaurant on his son’s behalf, Berkowitz tried to provoke him. “He was saying things like, ‘Go ahead, hit me!’ ” recalled the television writer. “I just wanted my son’s money.”

Now Jim Oppenheimer has a good position at a local juice bar, but he’s learned a hard lesson from his first job.

“It left a bad taste in his mouth--he didn’t want to get another job because he thought he’d get cheated again,” said his father. “I just kept telling him ‘Son, this is not how the workaday world usually works. Honest, it isn’t.’ ”

More than two dozen people have picketed the tiny restaurant on Pacific Coast Highway, where you can buy a bottle of Dom Perignon champagne for $135.