Authorities in Miami Springs, Florida, say a pizza chef distributed fake pizzeria flyers to local hotels to mislead tourists and steal business from a reputable pizzeria called Roman’s PizzeriaBut Jesus Roman, the owner of the latter, simply wants Jose Marti-Alvarez, who was arrested for alleged identity fraud, to operate his business under a different name.
CBS News reports that police have charged Marti-Alvarez with an “organized scheme to defraud” hotel guests and assault. The latter charge stems from allegations that Marti-Alvarez hit a hotel manager with his car as he was leaving the hotel after being confronted with the leaflets.
According to Local 10Police allege Marti-Alvarez ran “an elaborate scheme to defraud tourists at Miami Springs hotels” with flyers for a pizzeria with a similar name to Roman’s pizzeria: Roman Cuisine Pizzeria. Roman said some pizzas were sent “bad, uncooked and sometimes in a box with a piece of raw dough.”
Dave Portnoy once rated Roman’s Pizzeria (with a solid 7.4) and Barstool Sports reported on this. This article shows a flyer for Roman’s Pizzeria next to a flyer for Roman Cuisine Pizzeria, which police say is Marti-Alvarez’s fraudulent business. According to police, hotel guests thought they were ordering from the 40-year-old Roman’s Pizzeria when they ordered for Roman Cuisine Pizzeria based on Marti-Alvarez’s flyers.
Barstool Sports noted that the Roman Cuisine Pizzeria flyers look different than the Roman’s Pizzeria flyers, as they have different colors and different phone numbers. Barstool Sports compared the alleged scheme to a classic episode of The office in which Michael Scott ordered pizzas for his employees from Pizza by Alfredo instead of Alfredo’s Pizza Café, even though the food at Pizza by Alfredo was inferior.
It is not clear from the news reports whether Roman Cuisine Pizzeria is a legal restaurant allowed to serve food in Miami Springs. PMQ called the number listed on the business’s flyer and received a voice message in Spanish.
Roman told CBS News that the alleged system has been in place for several years and that customers have complained to him about undercooked food and items missing from their orders.
In an interview with Local 10, Roman, who serves New York-style thin-crust pizza at his restaurant, said, “Sometimes they show up at the store upset and ask, ‘Where’s the food?’ We have to explain to them that it’s not us.” Police say Roman’s business has also received negative online reviews and complaints with the Better Business Bureau.
After an angry customer visited Roman’s pizzeria outside of opening hours last week to complain, Roman became concerned about the safety of his employees and reported the incident to the police.
“We talked to the police chief,” Roman said in the CBS News report. “They started taking action. They put up ‘No Trespassing’ signs in the hotels.”
When a hotel manager confronted Marti-Alvarez about his flyers last week, he left the hotel and allegedly hit the manager with his car as he drove away, police said.
Roman, for his part, just wants to put an end to the confusion. said Miami’s NBC 6“In a way I’m glad because hopefully it stops. I didn’t want him to get arrested, but this had to happen to stop him. It’s not the right thing to do – he could have done it right. This wouldn’t have happened.”
CBS News reports that Roman is not demanding a long prison sentence for Marti-Alvarez or an apology. “I want him to not use the name of my restaurant, and if he uses his real name, then I want him to make the right food,” Roman said. “He could have his own business. He can do his own thing. It’s his own name. There’s nothing wrong with that. We’re all here to work and make ends meet. I appreciate that. I would like that.”
