North End workers shaken by crimes
A burglary and a robbery that struck mainstays of the North End Italian food scene have rattled restaurant workers who say they don’t feel safe leaving work.
Police are looking for separate suspects in the robbery of a Mike’s Pastry employee Monday and a burglary at Vinoteca di Monica Restaurant Wednesday.
“The people around here are concerned about it because you don’t feel secure. It can happen again to somebody else,” said Sandra Matta, 30, a server at Scopa. “Especially here in the nighttime, this is a very busy area. As a server usually you make good money. You are going home with cash and you don’t know what can happen on the way home.”
Monday morning, a Mike’s Pastry employee told police she was crossing Hanover Street to make a bank deposit when a man grabbed her arm. He called her by name and told her, “Give me the bag.” A witness spotted the suspect flee, but lost sight of him on North Street.
Then on Wednesday about 1 p.m., a worker opening Vinoteca di Monica Restaurant reported a break-in.
“Officers observed damage to a rear door, believed to be the point of entry, as well as damage to a cash register inside the restaurant,” police said. “The victim further stated that an undisclosed amount of money had been taken from the register.”
Police captured an image of the suspect on security cameras. Boston police spokesman Det. Lt. Michael McCarthy said the two crimes are not believed to be connected.
Lucia Pezzano, who works at Bella Vista, said she knows the woman from Mike’s who was robbed.
“All my life we know each other,” she said, “It’s like a big family around here,” Pezzano said. “We’ve never had this kind of problem before. We’ve been here 30 years. This is new. This is very new.”
Leaving work at night, she said, “We’re going to our cars and you don’t know who’s behind you.”
Anyone with information is urged to call Boston Police Area 1 detectives at 617-343-4248. To leave information anonymously, call 800-494-TIPS or text message the word “TIPS” to CRIME (27463).