From the Food Travel USA Archives
Original Airdate: 6/16/2012
Thou Shalt Not Steal Stromboli Pizza Sauce NYC
It’s Sunday which means we make sauce in our house. You can find my mother’s meatball recipe here and my sauce recipes and basic pasta here. This week on Food Travel USA Network we came across a story. Italians can be protective of their sauce recipes.
Two families in New York went to blows over sauce and pizza recipes used at L&B Spumoni Gardens in Brooklyn. Frank Russo, a former Columbo mafia mob boss, accused an associate of the Bonanno family. Eugene Lombardo was accused of stealing the pizza sauce recipe from the popular L&B restaurant. Lombardo’s sons were employees of L&B. They gave Lombardo access to the food storage area in the restaurant. Then, he was caught looking at the flour they use to make pizza.
Russo along with associates, Francis Guerra and Frank Iannaci went to the rival restaurant, The Square in Staten Island, to confront Lombardo. At the restaurant was a sign that read, “L&B-Style Pizza”. Thereafter, a confrontation ensued, culminating in Iannaci slapping Lombardo because Thou Shalt Not Steal Stromboli Pizza Sauce NYC!
After that, money was exchanged for use of the recipes. As a result, Guerra is now on trial for extortion. Source: Daily Mail.
