A jury just awarded $3.15 million to 22-year-old Andrew DeBellis—a sous chef who, over a brutal 2.5-month stretch, was punched, slapped, kicked, and emotionally destroyed inside the kitchen of fine-dining restaurant Margotto Hawaii.
Not in a moment of heat.
But daily.
By his executive chef—and with full knowledge of the owner.
The details are appalling.
🔪 Repeated punches to the face, ribs, and back🔪 A torn rotator cuff🔪 Ongoing verbal abuse over his inability to read Japanese🔪 Zero protection from management🔪 PTSD, depression, panic attacks, and a suicide spiral
And what did the owner, Robert Kazutomo Hori, do? Nothing, except text the chef the day after Christmas (following a Christmas Day beating) that “physical violence in America is a crime.”
Hori knew.
Guests heard it.
Coworkers saw it.
And still, nothing changed.
Instead, he allowed a violent, stressed-out, overworked chef to drink on the job, scream at staff, and literally strike employees—while management looked the other way and then denied ever seeing a thing.
This wasn’t bad HR. It was a deliberate culture of abuse.
The jury agreed. The $3.15M verdict includes $2.1M in punitive damages, because Hori’s behavior wasn’t just negligent. It was outrageous.
And so we offer our sincerest (and most disgusted) congratulations to Margotto Hawaii. You’ve earned your place on the shortlist for Worst Employer of 2025. You didn’t just fail to protect your employee—you enabled his tormentor.
