Trouble brewin’
Maid slams Ariz-tocrat
THE CO-FOUNDER of AriZona Iced Tea and his wife are being accused of berating and discriminating against the former housekeeper at their $12 million Long Island mansion.
Don and Ilene Vultaggio allegedly forced former housekeeper Norma Genovese to work as many as 100 hours per week without being paid overtime. The Filipino-Chinese immigrant also says Irene and the couple’s manager ridiculed her “religious beliefs, ‘foreign’ accent, mannerisms and diet,” and even threatened to force her to eat spoiled vegetables.
Genovese toiled for seven years at the beverage mogul’s palatial spread in Sands Point, named The Castle.
Genovese, 51, contends she was fired last November after complaining about not receiving overtime. She is suing for $16.5 million.
She says that besides housekeeping, her duties included feeding and caring for the Vultaggios’ four dogs, numerous fish and more than 100 birds, including peacocks, parrots, chickens and hens.
Keeping house at The Castle C l was no small ll task. k Th The waterfront French chateau-style mansion sits on 2 acres, has 30 rooms, 15 bathrooms, a gymnasium, movie theater, basketball court and several guesthouses.
Don Vultaggio, who founded the popular drink brand 20 years ago with partner John Ferlito, is not accused of verbally abusing the woman.
But Ilene gets heavy criticism in the federal complaint for ordering Genovese not to cook herself Filipino dishes while the couple was home.
“Ilene Vultaggio told [Genovese] that [her] food was smelly, and emphasized her disapproval by waving her hand back and forth in front of her nose while making a face,” the complaint states.
Ilene and manager Thomas Lyons also mocked the woman for keeping a statue of the Virgin Mary on the nightstand in her bedroom.
The lawsuit claims Lyons asked the housekeeper, “Why are you a Catholic? How many times do you repeat the Hail Mary as if you are a broken record? Are you afraid? And how many times do you pray the rosary?”
“The Vultaggios strongly deny the claims,” their lawyer, Josh Kimmerling, said.