More than 100 NYPD cops participated in raid that uncovered ‘labyrinth of crime’

By Shaina McLawrence and Gail Lubin
Staten Island Advance, N.Y.

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — As dawn broke Wednesday, a stunning police action unfolded on Staten Island, as 21 people were taken into custody during coordinated raids of three locations, as part of a drug sting that centers around a highly prominent borough business owner.

Ettore Mazzei, 61, an entrepreneur and chef who has owned and operated Chez Vous Catering for decades, had already been in custody since Tuesday night when the early morning raids targeted three of his Stapleton properties, according to a spokesperson with the office of the NYPD’s Deputy Commissioner of Public Information.

He was characterized in a statement by District Attorney Michael E. McMahon as the prime target of the action, and Mazzei now faces a slew of drug, larceny and identity-theft related charges.

“Like a modern-day Fagin, the character from Dickens’ Great Expectations, Mazzei preyed on vulnerable people who suffered from addiction illness and oppressed them into servitude in his catering business, for housing and ultimately, for drug dealing,” McMahon wrote. “The breadth of his criminal activity is truly mind-boggling. Mazzei built a labyrinth of crime including drug dealing, extortion, and fraud against numerous government programs including COVID-19 aid, housing support, food stamps, and other financial assistance. He is a successful businessman for sure — a crooked, evil businessman.”

McMahon said that the raid was the result of a long-term narcotics investigation spearheaded by the Richmond County District Attorney’s Office and Narcotics Borough Staten Island.

The shocking search and arrest warrants were executed at two apartment buildings owned by Mazzei at 701 and 703 Bay St., just up the block from the third raid location: his catering business at historic Edgewater Hall, a spot that Mazzei has long held at the center of his community revitalization work.

In addition to forming the North Shore Business Association and supporting the Downtown Staten Island initiative, Mazzei has been active as part of Staten Island anti-drug initiatives, even as he stands accused in a drug-running operation that was responsible for two fatal overdoses.

An NYPD source said 125 law enforcement officers participated in the raids. An Advance/SILive.com reporting team was on hand as the sun rose and people were removed from the locations still in their sleepwear.

It was not immediately clear how many of the other 20 people swept up in the raid were ultimately charged, but multiple defendants were expected to be arraigned in criminal court in St. George on Wednesday.

According to a spokesperson with the office of the NYPD’s Deputy Commissioner of Public Information, Mazzei was initially hit with 38 charges, including multiple counts for grand larceny, identity theft, possession of a forged instrument and criminal possession of a controlled substance.

On scene at the raids Wednesday, Lieutenant Mark DiBenedietto of Staten Island Narcotics had a message for the community.

“If you sell dangerous drugs or fentanyl on Staten Island, we’re going to find you and you’ll end up like this guy,” said DiBenedietto plainly.

A DOUBLE-LIFE?

The charges leveled by law enforcement against Mazzei suggest a shocking double-life for a person who was honored just two years ago by the Staten Island Chamber of Commerce as a leader and community role model.

Mazzei previously owned Dock Street Bar and Grill and also operates Amendment 18, a bar and restaurant that is located onsite at the catering hall.

He publishes “This Way on Bay” to support North Shore businesses, and has his own music production company, Dock Street Records. He has produced albums by children of the Wu-Tang Clan and one with Method Man himself.

Despite this seeming investment in the community, McMahon said that investigations into recent violence and illicit drug activity led back to Mazzei.

“Losing over 150 of our neighbors and loved ones to a fatal overdose just last year, Staten Islanders know all too well the devastating and deadly ramifications of the opioid and overdose crisis. And yet, shameless poison purveyors like Ettore Mazzei and his associates continue to flood our streets with death-dealing and harmful narcotics, choosing to prioritize profit over the pain and suffering they leave in their wake,” said McMahon. “Thanks to the men and women of the NYPD’s Narcotics Borough Staten Island, and my office’s Narcotics-Investigations Bureau led by ADA Michele Molfetta, ADA Matthew Gamberg, and ADA Mathew Signorile, these defendants will now face the consequences for their destructive and criminal actions.”

Mazzei and multiple other defendants are accused of making over a dozen sales where tens of thousands of dollars’ worth of deadly narcotics changed hands.

“The defendants’ alleged actions plagued neighborhoods in Staten Island by littering the streets with illegal narcotics that led to overdose deaths and endangered countless more New Yorkers,” said NYPD Commissioner Edward A. Caban. “These allegations are particularly galling given that the driving force behind this illicit drug operation — a local landlord, chef, and entrepreneur — was recently recognized as a pillar of the community by the Staten Island Chamber of Commerce. Putting personal and financial gain above people’s lives is the polar opposite of what New Yorkers expect and deserve from their leaders. I commend our skilled NYPD investigators and our law enforcement partners at the district attorney’s office for their continued dedication to our shared public safety mission.”

Ultimately, officers and detectives from across the city, as well as federal officers from the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, were part of the massive takedown operation.

“Today’s vast operation...is a testament to our law enforcement investigative resources and determination,” said USPIS New York Division Inspector in Charge Daniel B. Brubaker . “I am proud of our partnership with NYPD, Richmond County District Attorney’s Office Special Narcotics Bureau, and the work of our Postal Inspectors in making the arrests of these alleged drug users and distributors. One of our highest priorities is to eliminate drugs and contraband from the U.S. Mail and our communities, and in this case, as a result of our partnership with NYPD , achieving a safer and stronger Staten Island .”

Check back for more coverage on this developing story.

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