For Baljinder Kaur, a 49-year-old cook, the trauma that began on August 14 is yet to end. Her story is not related to the blackout. Kaur, an employee of Malabar Palace on Hillside Avenue in Queens Village, Kaur came to work as usual on the morning at the posh banquet hall and restaurant. To her surprise, she found the doors locked. Later in the day she realized that the doors were shut forever for her and 20 employees.
Shafeeh Syed Abdullah and Mohammad Ali Kutty owners of the thriving banquet hall disappeared on that fateful day. "They owe me $18,000 in unpaid wages and a $6,000 loan," said Kaur. "I am completely broke. I have nowhere to go now."
An agitated group of former employees, investors, suppliers and clients have lodged a complaint against Syed and Ali, as they were popularly known, with the Queens District Attorney. An investigation has begun on how the duo ran away with over a million dollars.
Avtar Kaur, 50, who was working as manager at the Malabar Palace for the past two years, says she is devastated with the loss of employment and the unrepaid money she had lent to Syed and Ali.
How is that an employee loaned money to an employer? “Well...what should I say...they were very good con artists or we were gullible...I don't know," said Avtar.
Avtar said the two illegal immigrants from Kerala who came to own the palatial building owed her $10,000 in loans and almost the same amount in unpaid wages. "I have taken loans from finance companies to give to these two crooks. Now, I have to face the wrath of my creditors and husband," she said with tears welling up in her eyes.
Edith George and her husband Dominique Jean, band managers based out of Elmont, N.Y, said they were among the scores of victims duped by Syed and Ali. The Caribbean couple claimed to have lost $50,000 deposits given to Malabar Palace to book a banquet hall for every Friday till February 2004. "It is extremely frustrating. We have no one to speak to or get help from. It’s not just the loss of money. The loss of reputation is ruinous," George said.
India Tribune found that Syed and Ali have left a trail of sadness. Their modus operandi was simple. The racketeers won the trust of the family, won their hearts with food baskets, gifts and lots of sweet talk. Even as new claims pour in the total money owed has already crossed a million dollars, said the victims.
Syed and Ali, of Indian origin, were cooks in the Middle East apparently working for royal families. After they arrived in the United States in 1996, the two immigrants started working as cooks and rose, at an astonishing pace, to become owners of the biggest banquet hall in the area, said Arun Vora, owner of a deli close to Malabar Palace.
Vora, a spokesman for the victims, warned: "What is even more alarming is that the new owners of the banquet hall, which is being renamed as Royal Arcadia Palace, are in cahoots with the filchers."
In a letter to Richard Brown, Queens District Attorney, the victims asked for a thorough investigation in this "clear case of fraud and embezzlement." They alleged that the embezzlers had "prenegotiated" a deal with the new owners—George Verghese, Carmo Lobo and Roy Mathews and Raju of Kerala Jewelers—to "hurriedly transfer" the ownership of Malabar Palace.
India Tribune’s calls to the alleged new owners, Verghese, a CPA in Long Island and Roy Mathews, a truck driver for a sweet store, were not returned. Raju, who owns “Kerala Jewelers” in Queens angrily retorted: "Who the h--- told you I am the new owner. I know nothing. Thank you! Bye!" and banged the phone down.
Vora said he wants to avoid a repeat of the Malabar Palace scam. The new owners belong to the same flock as Syed and Ali, he alleged. "We want justice. We want the perpetrators to be prosecuted and the money recovered," said Vora who said he had given the cheats a $12,000 loan for "expanding" their facilities.
Like all the new owners of Malabar Palace, Mathews was close to Syed and Ali before they disappeared. He was a delivery truck driver but on August 14 he claimed to be the new boss. When agitated employees and creditors confronted Mathews for their money, he ran off.
A spokesman for Rajbhog sweets said Mathews worked for the company as a delivery truck driver for a little less than a year and quit two months ago. "We have no idea where he went and what he does now," said Sanjiv Modi of Rajbhog sweets.
Many of Palace's formerly overworked kitchen and maintenance workers who are unemployed plan to picket the banquet hall, if and when it reopens for business. "The new owners have deep links with the old ones. We are pursuing the suppliers to join our agitation," Vora said.
Some of the employees told this correspondent that Tariq Longhi, a Pakistani insurance agent and a prominent personality in the area, soothed their feelings on August 14th with assurances of full compensation. When approached by India Tribune, Longhi claimed that he too was a victim of the tricksters and refused to comment any further.
Radhakrishna Pillai, 42, a contractor, who is among the big investors in the Palace said, "I have given them my hard earned money I will recover it by any means."
The victims have sought the help of Councilman David I. Weprin (23rd District, Queens) in trying to extradite Syed and Ali, who are believed to have fled to Kerala, India. The Councilman has joined the chorus of protests against the Malabar Palace and has asked the Queens District Attorney to investigate.
"These two individuals have tarnished the fair name of Indians living in Queens. They need to be punished," said Shri Pallakil, who said he was ashamed of telling the amount of money he loaned.
Big investors like Shri and others said they were tapping their contacts in Kerala to recover their money. They believe the duo are posing as successful businessmen from New York. One is said to own a 100-bed hospital and another has opened a classy resort.
It is poor victims like Baljinder Kaur who seem totally helpless. "Will I get back my money if you write about these crooks?" she asks.
Victims can contact Vora at 718-454-9666 or the Queens DA's office at 718-286-2000.
