http://www.palmbeachpost.com/localnews/content/local_news/epaper/2008/11/06/bino_1107.html
Cerabino: Palm Beach restaurant owner posts KKK notes election night
The white co-owner of a Palm Beach restaurant told her black employees they'd be fired if they voted for Barack Obama, and on the night of Obama's victory, she wrote "KKK" on their timecards and in notes she posted in the back of the restaurant.
"I wrote KKK all over. It was ridiculous and stupid," said Patricia Gatti, who co-owns 264 The Grill, a casual dining spot on South County Road. "I think I got crazy with FOX News, watching too much FOX News.
"I've got a hot head and I'm crazy," she said today. "It's my hot Italian blood."
Gatti shares ownership of the restaurant with her black business partner and chef, Avery Watson.
She said her exuberance over John McCain was just some good-natured ribbing between her and Watson, and was never meant to be taken seriously by the help.
"I tried to tear up all the papers," Watson said, "but I guess I missed a few."
When Raymonde Prudent, a 57-year-old Haitian cook, showed up for work on the morning after the election, she discovered that her timecard had "KKK" written in red ink on it. Her co-worker Marie Rose St. Fort Desrosiers had a note clipped to hers that said, "Marie, go back home to Haiti."
Prudent, who didn't know the significance of the letters "KKK," called her 34-year-old daughter, Jeanne Benoit.
"I said, 'This is bad. This is what people do to black people,'" Benoit said she told her mother.
Benoit said her mother had voted for Obama even though Gatti had said she would fire anybody who voted for Obama.
Prudent, who had worked in the restaurant for the past 14 years, wasn't sure if she had a job anymore. She was standing outside the restaurant Wednesday morning with the other Haitian woman and both were crying, Benoit said.
Benoit took the two women to the Palm Beach Police Department, where a criminal investigation was opened. Another former waitress, Patricia Del Aguila, went to the police station Wednesday to show them photos from her camera phone to back up her claim that Gatti had scribbled "White Power" on staff memos and other pieces of paper, which were taped to the restaurant kitchen walls during the run-up to the election.
"She took white pieces of paper and posted them in the area that we prepared coffee and in the dishwashing area," Del Aguila said.
Del Aguila said that when she or others complained to Gatti's business partner, Watson, he would just shrug his shoulders and say that's the way she is.
"I've known her for 30-something years," Watson said. "Her Italian upbringing causes her to flip."
Del Aguila, who quit her job at the restaurant at the end of October for other reasons, said that Gatti had asked her how she was voting, and Del Aguila said she truthfully told her boss that she would vote for McCain.
"She told me to get all my Hispanic friends to do the same," the former waitress said.
Del Aguila said she decided to go to the police this week to back up the claims of the two black restaurant workers.
"There's a line to be drawn," the former waitress said.
The Palm Beach police on today released very little information about the case, not even a narrative of the women's complaints, claiming that the matter was under criminal investigation. Gatti has not been charged.
She said an officer spoke to her at the restaurant and that she made her heartfelt apologies to her employees.
"They were upset at the time, but they aren't now," Gatti said. "We hugged."
Their jobs, she said, were never in jeopardy.
A white employee at the restaurant said that Gatti had been obsessed by the election, and frequently spoke about it to employees.
"She thinks Obama's going to ruin the country," the employee said. "I didn't want to get fired, so I told her I was voting for McCain."
Gatti said her workers are the ones who took things too seriously.
"I think Obama is going to make a great president," Gatti said. "He's got a beautiful smile and he's a great guy."
Benoit said she received a call from a Palm Beach police officer today telling her that the restaurant owner had apologized and was given a verbal warning.
"It was not a joke," Benoit said. "She thought she could do anything to my mother and that nothing would happen."
Watson, Gatti's black co-owner, was working the lunch shift in the restaurant kitchen this afternoon. He took a long view of the turmoil that a black presidential candidate has caused in his Palm Beach restaurant.
"I'm sure there will be a lot of craziness like this until everything smooths over," Watson said. "It's just one of those things that's going to happen."
Cerabino: Palm Beach restaurant owner posts KKK notes election night
The white co-owner of a Palm Beach restaurant told her black employees they'd be fired if they voted for Barack Obama, and on the night of Obama's victory, she wrote "KKK" on their timecards and in notes she posted in the back of the restaurant.
"I wrote KKK all over. It was ridiculous and stupid," said Patricia Gatti, who co-owns 264 The Grill, a casual dining spot on South County Road. "I think I got crazy with FOX News, watching too much FOX News.
"I've got a hot head and I'm crazy," she said today. "It's my hot Italian blood."
Gatti shares ownership of the restaurant with her black business partner and chef, Avery Watson.
She said her exuberance over John McCain was just some good-natured ribbing between her and Watson, and was never meant to be taken seriously by the help.
"I tried to tear up all the papers," Watson said, "but I guess I missed a few."
When Raymonde Prudent, a 57-year-old Haitian cook, showed up for work on the morning after the election, she discovered that her timecard had "KKK" written in red ink on it. Her co-worker Marie Rose St. Fort Desrosiers had a note clipped to hers that said, "Marie, go back home to Haiti."
Prudent, who didn't know the significance of the letters "KKK," called her 34-year-old daughter, Jeanne Benoit.
"I said, 'This is bad. This is what people do to black people,'" Benoit said she told her mother.
Benoit said her mother had voted for Obama even though Gatti had said she would fire anybody who voted for Obama.
Prudent, who had worked in the restaurant for the past 14 years, wasn't sure if she had a job anymore. She was standing outside the restaurant Wednesday morning with the other Haitian woman and both were crying, Benoit said.
Benoit took the two women to the Palm Beach Police Department, where a criminal investigation was opened. Another former waitress, Patricia Del Aguila, went to the police station Wednesday to show them photos from her camera phone to back up her claim that Gatti had scribbled "White Power" on staff memos and other pieces of paper, which were taped to the restaurant kitchen walls during the run-up to the election.
"She took white pieces of paper and posted them in the area that we prepared coffee and in the dishwashing area," Del Aguila said.
Del Aguila said that when she or others complained to Gatti's business partner, Watson, he would just shrug his shoulders and say that's the way she is.
"I've known her for 30-something years," Watson said. "Her Italian upbringing causes her to flip."
Del Aguila, who quit her job at the restaurant at the end of October for other reasons, said that Gatti had asked her how she was voting, and Del Aguila said she truthfully told her boss that she would vote for McCain.
"She told me to get all my Hispanic friends to do the same," the former waitress said.
Del Aguila said she decided to go to the police this week to back up the claims of the two black restaurant workers.
"There's a line to be drawn," the former waitress said.
The Palm Beach police on today released very little information about the case, not even a narrative of the women's complaints, claiming that the matter was under criminal investigation. Gatti has not been charged.
She said an officer spoke to her at the restaurant and that she made her heartfelt apologies to her employees.
"They were upset at the time, but they aren't now," Gatti said. "We hugged."
Their jobs, she said, were never in jeopardy.
A white employee at the restaurant said that Gatti had been obsessed by the election, and frequently spoke about it to employees.
"She thinks Obama's going to ruin the country," the employee said. "I didn't want to get fired, so I told her I was voting for McCain."
Gatti said her workers are the ones who took things too seriously.
"I think Obama is going to make a great president," Gatti said. "He's got a beautiful smile and he's a great guy."
Benoit said she received a call from a Palm Beach police officer today telling her that the restaurant owner had apologized and was given a verbal warning.
"It was not a joke," Benoit said. "She thought she could do anything to my mother and that nothing would happen."
Watson, Gatti's black co-owner, was working the lunch shift in the restaurant kitchen this afternoon. He took a long view of the turmoil that a black presidential candidate has caused in his Palm Beach restaurant.
"I'm sure there will be a lot of craziness like this until everything smooths over," Watson said. "It's just one of those things that's going to happen."
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