Looks like we missed a fun press conference out in Mineola yesterday, where the owner of a kosher catering company had gathered the press to defend himself against allegations that he cooked non-kosher food in kosher kitchens, thus contaminating them. Scott Morrell, the owner of Morrell Caterers, was flanked by two rabbis, several attorneys and other catering company officials outside State Supreme Court in Nassau County when he told the press, "I have never violated any rules. This is a conspiracy." Then the two former employees who are accusing Morrell of breaking kosher law crashed the press conference. more ›

A caterer on Staten Island, who allegedly has ties to the Genovese crime family, was found guilty of threatening a rival for a high school cafeteria bid. U.S. Attorney Loretta Lynch said, "This case demonstrates organized crime still conducts its business in its traditional way — by relying on threats and violence to intimidate hard-working individuals trying to make a legitimate living. Here, the defendant sought to use fear and intimidation to obtain business, rather than honest competition. Such efforts will always be met with the full force of the law." more ›

Yesterday it was reported that Mayor Bloomberg would be spending at least $245,000 of taxpayer money on his three Executive Chefs at Gracie Mansion. People were unsurprisingly not so thrilled with this, but at least one restaurant has an idea to avoid that cost: have all the different city restaurants cater a few pro bono meals for the Mayor. "Teachers are so instrumental in young people's lives. What's more important? Kids getting an education or putting on fancy dinners?", said Salvatore Rappo, manager at East Village restaurant Spina. Mayoral spokesman Jason Post sounded psyched about the idea, or at least the promise of "donated" food, and urged Rappo to follow-through on his offer with a call to City Hall. more ›

A Bronx teen is suing a wedding hall and bridal shop for using an unauthorized photo of her and her uncle in ads that made them seem like newlyweds. The lawsuit filed by the family of 17-year-old Katelyn Aviles accuses the Sanz catering hall and Margie's Bridal in the Bronx of causing her "severe and serious injuries and damages" by using the photo, which wasn't even taken at Sanz! It was snapped at her sweet 16 birthday party, and Aviles's lawyer speculates that the photographer is affiliated with Sanz. Aviles says she knew nothing about the ad until friends began teasing her about a modeling career. "When I got to school, everyone is looking at me different, talking about me, whispering," she tells the Daily News. "A few of the girls I hang out with were saying, 'You think you're all that.' " The ad appeared on a postcard, which friends found in a stack in the foyer of an IHOP. Now some call her the "IHOP girl," and Aviles feels "violated." She tells the Post, "One person said, 'Who's that, your boyfriend?' I did a double take and said, 'What are you, serious? That's my uncle.' He basically raised me." more ›