Bowling · Home Alone · Batali
Plus: A crime-adjacent investigation into a NY mayor's dining habits
the true crime that's worth your time
It’s Friday morning, so I’m already planning my weekend true-crime consumption. New on Netflix is A Kidnapping Scandal: The Florence Cassez Affair, a docuseries that attracted me with its subject’s super-chic beachy waves in the lead image. My ardor cooled, however, when I saw that the show about a high-profile case involving allegations of false testimony, multiple kidnappings, and even a staged raid is five episodes long. Do I really need to devote basically a whole day to this?
Instead, I assembled a reading list for myself to decide if there’s enough there to justify five fucking hours of my limited life. Here’s what I have:
Mexico admits hostage rescue was staged for TV [Guardian, Feb 16, 2006]
A Cause Célèbre Clouds Mexican Sentiment on Kidnapping Scourge [New York Times: April 8, 2009]
Key testimony against Cassez 'obtained under duress' [France 24: April 6, 2010]
Florence Cassez's release sparks anger in Mexico [BBC: Jan. 28, 2013]
The True Story of 'A Kidnapping Scandal: The Florence Cassez Affair' [Esquire: Aug. 22, 2022]
After reading all that, what I know is that this is an interesting story…but I don’t know that it’s five hours’ worth of interesting. If I watch it or not will likely be decided by how much else I have to do, and if I’m in the mood — but for me, it doesn’t feel crucial.
What about you? Will you watch AKS:TFCA this weekend, or do you have something else on your true crime agenda? — EB
When does being a regular at a restaurant approach our chosen interest area of true crime? When you’re a known sketchball like NY mayor Eric Adams, it seems, and the restaurateurs are convicted felons.
Sarah probably has way more smart stuff to say about Adams when it comes to his past role in Brooklyn politics or his present-day operations as New York’s top local pol. Unburdened by East Coast investment (literal or emotional), Adams-watching for me is a fun diversion. His residency questions suggest potential voter fraud! (Crime.) He says he’s a vegan but eats fish! (Not a crime, but weird.) He’s a dick about service workers! (Not a crime, but it should be.)
In a remarkably resource-heavy New York Times investigation published this week, we now get a new yarn to add to the list: Adams eats at an upscale Manhattan restaurant called Osteria La Baia several times a week, possibly without paying. He also appears to be very close to the restaurant’s owners, twin brothers Zhan (also known as Johnny) and Robert Petrosyants, both of whom admittedly ran a medical billing/money-laundering scheme that ended in a prison sentence for Robert, probation and community service for Johnny.
Being friends with convicted criminals isn’t against the rules for a mayor, of course, but dining out for free might be. From the NYT:
In June alone, Mr. Adams visited La Baia on at least 14 evenings, according to New York Times reporters who observed his nighttime outings — of which there were at least 22 that month.
At La Baia, where entrees range in price from about $30 to over $60, Times reporters never observed him paying for his meals. In response to questions from The Times, a spokesman said the mayor personally pays the bill to the restaurant monthly. But the spokesman declined to provide receipts, and the restaurant’s operators did not respond to emails seeking any documents that would support the mayor’s claim.
If the mayor has failed to pay for his meals, he could have violated the city’s ethics rules, watchdogs said. Public servants are explicitly barred from accepting gifts worth $50 or more from city vendors — a rule that would not apply to La Baia and the Petrosyants brothers. But the city’s Conflicts of Interest Board advises public officials not to accept any valuable gifts that are given to them because of their positions.
For BE readers who have also worked in the service industry, I’d also like to note a Times point that will likely bother you more, though, again, this isn’t criminal, it’s just douchey (if true):
The mayor sometimes stays for three or more hours, and often he is the only remaining guest as the staff waits well after the restaurant’s posted 10 p.m. closing time.
Politico was first to note Adams’ fondness for La Baia, back in February of this year. That report was focused on Adams’ Petrosyants ties, and seemed to be suggesting that something is afoot:
Adams counts Johnny Petrosyants among his closest friends: They talk frequently and spend extensive time together, dining at restaurants and hobnobbing at clubs like the exclusive Zero Bond in Noho. Adams, who sleeps just a few hours each night, sometimes stays at Petrosyants’ Midtown condo in Trump World Tower, according to five people familiar with their habits. Across the Hudson River in Fort Lee, N.J., the two own condos nearly across the street from each other.
A City Hall official described their relationship as a longstanding friendship, and said Adams — who took up residence in Gracie Mansion — does not sleep at Petrosyants’ pad.
“They were introduced by mutual friends, at a time when Johnny was in the midst of a personal crisis,” City Hall Communications Director Maxwell Young said in a statement to POLITICO. “Eric has a long history of helping people through difficult times, helping to turn their lives around, and the mutual friend thought Eric would be able to help. That continues to be the nature of their relationship — one of friendship and mentorship and support.”
Now, this is hardly the greatest example of potential criminal activity from a politician we’ll see this week, but damn if it isn’t fun. And, honestly, I’d way rather watch five hours of NYT reporters figuring out the best ways to haunt La Baia for Adams sightings that I might AKS:TFCA, so if someone can make that happen I’d appreciate it, thanks. —EB
La Baia’s entrees are in the $30-55 range, which is spendy in my book — but not unheard of for a special night out. So, here’s a question: How many special days or nights do you think Best Evidence has brought you?
For only $55/year, or $5 a month, you get five issues a week packed with smart and accessible analysis of the true-crime genre from two professional journalist/critics who have really seen it all (and have the scars to prove it).
If you chose to skip a La Baia-level dinner just once a year, you’d be covering 52 weeks (or so) of our hard work — commitment-phobes can stick with the monthly rate, which is less than an oat milk latte at Starbucks.
Thank you for considering, and thanks to all of you who are already cutting out a branzino a year to keep us in business. You’re the best. — EB
And now, for a quick allegedly bad famous men roundup:
Celebrity chef Mario Batali settles sexual assault lawsuits in Boston [Reuters]
Sorry, folks, my food writer day job is showing a bit today, thanks for bearing with me! After the well-known chef was acquitted of criminal charges in May, I’ve been eager to hear what would happen in the civil cases against him. This week, we learned that Batali had settled both claims for a confidential figure; attorneys for the plaintiffs said that "We cannot comment further due to confidentiality obligations." — EB
Devin Ratray, 'Home Alone' actor, under investigation for alleged rape [CNN]
The headlines for this story might lead one to assume Ratray has been away from the public eye since his days playing Buzz McCallister (Kevin’s jerk big brother) in the John Hughes films. But Ratray’s been a TV/movie mainstay in the years since, including a big role in Steven Soderbergh’s latest and an appearance on Better Call Saul.
A woman named Lisa Smith says Ratray raped her in 2017, and though she reported it to the cops, they never moved forward with an investigation. She spoke up about the matter because Ratray was arrested late last year following an alleged domestic violence incident; Smith said that seeing the headlines spurred her to press police to again look at her case. Ratray, who has not been charged in the rape case, denies her claims. — EB
This is just such an unexpected and odd story that I can do nothing but present it, unadulterated. I’m not sure how this story from Today (not the Today show, this is a Singapore commuter paper that went all-online about five years ago) ended up in my feed, but here we are: “Fascinated with true-crime podcasts, national bowler pursues career in fighting crime.”
So, here’s the deal: Evangeline Foo, a 19-year-old nationally ranked Singapore bowler, announced that as opposed to pursuing a career in the sport, she would head to college to study psychology, with the goal of working in law enforcement in the pursuit of serial killers.
This is apparently a big deal, as bowling in Singapore appears also to be a pretty big deal, a pursuit that can actually lead to a legit career…not just local fame for some weekend warriors. According to Today, “A sports-related career would be much more expected,” but instead, she’s accepted a four-year scholarship “on the intelligence career track and will join the Home Team in a non-uniformed role conducting analyses and research when she graduates.”
This is where things get a little confusing for folks (like me) unfamiliar with Singapore: The Home Team isn’t a sports term, it’s a reference to what we in the U.S. might refer to as “first responders,” if first responders also included, like, the DEA.
Here’s a video from the Home Team website that attempts to explain what the Home Team does. It is well worth the nine minutes:
OK, so that’s the Home Team, which I now think is the best law enforcement propaganda name ever. Anyway, that’s what Foo will be doing after she graduates, but until then:
As a national athlete, she trains with the bowling team three times a week. When she is not training or studying, she can usually be found watching or listening to true crime documentaries and podcasts.
Of particular interest to her are those about serial killers such as the notorious Ted Bundy, who kidnapped, raped and murdered numerous young women and girls in the United States around the 1970s.
“I find their behavioural pattern very interesting. On the one hand, they can lead completely normal civilian lives but behind the scenes, commit heinous crimes that even their family members may not know about,” she said.
Next week on Best Evidence: Never Seen Again, internet peril, and more.
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