Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
Ex-Employees Sue Hawaiian Tropic Zone, Alleging Rape
By
John Del Signore
Published Oct 8, 2008
Modified Oct 8, 2008
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
John Del Signore
Published Oct 8, 2008
Modified Oct 8, 2008
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Midtown's Hawaiian Tropic Zone Restaurant, whose bikini-clad waitresses make Hooters look like Chuck E. Cheese, has been hit with a $600 million discrimination lawsuit by four female former employees who accuse executives of ignoring their complaints against one-time general manager Anthony Rakis. The lawsuit declares that Rakis's relentless sexual harassment escalated into rape after a pre-opening party in 2006, when he jumped into the cab of former floor manager Giulietta Consalvo. Rakis allegedly threw money at the driver during the assault and said, "Keep driving, buddy," leaving her at her apartment "appearing drugged and disoriented."
Court papers obtained by the Daily News maintain that a few days later, Rakis begged Consalvo not to tell anyone: "I went to my priest this weekend. Please don't tell anybody. It was the alcohol."According to the Post, he also added, "I used to be a very bad person, but my wife turned me around. Please think about my wife," who was pregnant at the time. Another plaintiff, former hostess Stephanie Cheng, says Rakis forced her to perform fellatio on him in a basement storage area last March, telling her, "Don't say anything or else you'll be in hot water like I will be. I have a wife and I have kids and I can't afford to lose this job."
Want more sordid details? Big shot chef David Burke is also named in the lawsuit for allegedly groping Consalvo, who says Dennis Riese, chairman of the company that runs the restaurant, gave her a $10,000 raise and thanked her for not reporting the rape to police. Rakis's lawyer denies the allegations, and Burke was unavailable for comment. When Hawaiian Tropic Zone opened, it was learned that the waitresses live two to a room in an Upper East Side dorm, and Rakis came off as a world class asshole when interviewed by the Observer (scroll down) in 2006.
Photo of current Zone lady Karalyn via HTZ's site.(that's pictured)
Tagged
assault
employees
harassment
hawaiian tropic zone
lawsuit
models
rakis
rape
reise
suing
John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Central Park birders, others remember 63-year-old woman killed in park
People who said they knew her described her as an artist and a familiar presence in the Ramble.
By
Charles Lane
Published Sep 28, 2026 at 7:04 p.m. ET
Dump truck driver hits and kills cyclist on 34th Street in Midtown, NYPD says
It's the latest in a string of hit-and-run deaths in the city in recent months.
By
Liam Quigley
News
Dump truck driver hits and kills cyclist on 34th Street in Midtown, NYPD says
It's the latest in a string of hit-and-run deaths in the city in recent months.
By
Liam Quigley
New ingredient mandated for Latin American kitchen, restaurant plates in NJ
By
Arya Sundaram
A Brooklyn jail cell filled with smoke. The emergency button failed, a lawyer said.
By
Samantha Max
Crews launch tunnel machines to dig first new Hudson River rail tunnels since 1910
By
Michael Sol Warren
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .