Staten Island caterer arrested on drug charges – NBC New York

A well-known Staten Island chef and restaurant owner who was recently honored for his efforts to revitalize the community has been arrested in connection with a major drug raid, law enforcement sources say.

Addiction is a daily battle on the island's north coast. For fentanyl poisoning users, police try to find the dealers responsible for the sale. That brought law enforcement to the doors of Chez Vous Caterers on Bay Street.

About 20 people were arrested Wednesday morning on charges of selling drugs. Police say the group is linked to at least three overdose deaths – and they claim Chez Vous owner Ettore Mazzei is the mastermind of the entire operation.

Mazzei, considered a pillar of downtown Staten Island, was honored by the Chamber of Commerce in January 2022 for his revitalization efforts. But police and prosecutors say he ran a drug and pill factory.

Mazzei was taken into custody on Tuesday evening after police said friends told him he had told people he wanted to leave town. The businessman was charged with 15 counts of drug possession.

“This gentleman poses as someone who wants to get drug addicts and people with substance abuse disorders into rehab, but no one really knows that he is the one supplying these people with the drugs to keep them addicted,” said Scott Weisberg, NYPD deputy inspector in the Detective Borough of Staten Island.

Staten Island District Attorney Michael McMahon described it as exploitation of the weak. McMahon says people get addicted, then owe him money and have to work for him to pay off their debts. It's a vicious circle.

Law enforcement sources say he would get people addicted to cocaine, crack and fentanyl and order them to pay for it with their food stamps. The same sources say he would give others an apartment only to turn around and get them to sell drugs to pay their rent. Investigators say the case is ongoing – and that federal charges are still pending.

A request for comment from Mazzei's attorney was not immediately returned Wednesday.