The Disturbing $5 Million Lawsuit Once Filed Against Lidia Bastianich

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Celebrity chef Lidia Bastianich has certainly led an inspiring life, but not without its blemishes — one of which is incredibly disturbing. In 2011, a $5 million lawsuit was filed against Bastianich alleging what amounts to human trafficking and enslavement (via The New York Post). Maria Carmela Farina — an Italian woman who was in her early 50s at the time of the incident — was reportedly tricked into working for Bastianich for six years without pay.

Speaking with the New York Daily News, Farina's lawyer, Paul Catsandonis, said that his client could only speak Italian and therefore had no one to turn to for help during the course of her six years working for Bastianich. She was allegedly allowed no vacation time, was cut off from her family, and was expected to provide 24/7 care for Bastianich's associate.

According to the New York Post story, the suit claimed that Bastianich's family went so far as to call Farina "il shiavo di lusso" ("the golden slave") behind her back, implying intentional mistreatment. The shocking allegations haven't seemed to have much of an impact on Bastianich's career since, which wasn't the case for other celebrity chefs sued by former employees.

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Court papers filed in 2014 give a detailed summary of Maria Carmela Farina's accusations against Lidia Bastianich. In 2005, Farina, then residing in Venice, was approached about a job managing Bastianich's television shows and restaurant kitchens, and was promised payment of no less than $600 a week. Farina's visa applications, sponsored by Bastianich via Tavola Productions, appeared to confirm the agreement, citing both the work she was meant to do and her salary. Upon arriving in the U.S., however, Farina was instead made to work as a live-in caregiver for one of Bastianich's associates, Luigia Crespi. Her duties included cooking, cleaning, and bathing the elderly Crespi. 

Instead of receiving the salary she was promised, the money reportedly went towards healthcare insurance for Farina, free meals and boarding, and visa fees handled by Bastianich and her company. The work she was made to do was allegedly due to an arrangement between Bastianich and Crespi, who in 1996 had previously agreed to deed Bastianich her home for $10 as long as Bastianich would care for her in her old age. 

The arrangement ended in 2011, when Crespi passed away. Bastianich's daughter, Tanya Bastianich Manuali, reportedly told Farina she was being evicted from the home shortly after Crespi died, giving her a one-way ticket to Italy and a promise of $10,000 in unpaid wages upon her arrival (via Gothamist). Farina opted not to take the offer, instead staying in the United States to pursue legal action.

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Lidia Bastianich's legal team responded by filing for a dismissal of Maria Carmela Farina's lawsuit. According to a document filed in 2012, the New York Supreme Court granted the dismissal of the suit on all 11 counts within, citing insufficient claim for some, while arguing others did not meet certain legal thresholds. Additionally, claims of misrepresentation had gone beyond the three-year statute of limitations by the time the case was filed in 2011. 

According to the 2014 court documents, however, Farina's legal team successfully appealed the reinstatement of two counts. It was ruled that Farina did, in fact, have a case to expect reasonable income based on the services she provided to Luigia Crespi in good faith. The court also ruled that Farina had sufficient grounds to continue with her allegations that Bastianich was "unjustly enriched" by her services. Aside from getting the rewards of Farina's services without paying for them, Bastianich was found to have benefited from Farina's work considering it was one of the conditions under which Crespi agreed to sell Bastianich her home. 

There have been little, if any, public updates on the case since the 2014 reinstatement of two of  Farina's claims, aside from her getting into a separate dispute with her then legal team, according to court papers from 2020. Bastianich, on the other hand, continues to be as successful as ever; her net worth as of 2021 sits at an impressive $16 million.