The messy fight between two Italian restaurants named Patsy’s ended yesterday when a Manhattan federal judge declared one joint’s pasta sauce the real thing and the other a sloppy impostor.
The decision by Judge John Martin ended a two-year fight between the Patsy’s on West 56th Street and the older Patsy’s Pizzeria in Harlem – both of which claimed a long list of celebrity clientele, including Frank Sinatra.
The judge was so irate, he said he would probably order the Harlem restaurant to pick up the check for the protracted legal food fight – and find the owner, Frank Brija, in contempt for “his repeated false statements under oath.”
“I’m so happy, I’m shaking right now,” said Sal Scognamillo, the chef and part-owner at the West Side eatery. “We’re overjoyed, because we worked so hard to build up this company.”
The West Side Patsy’s filed a lawsuit against the Harlem Patsy’s last year, saying the uptown shop was stealing its logo and name to sell jars of pasta sauce to supermarkets.
The West Side Patsy’s argued that its sauce came first, and the Harlem shop was trying to horn in on its business.
The Harlem group claimed its jars of pasta sauce came first, and offered a 1993 invoice to support the claim.
But the “invoice” was later shown to use a bar code that didn’t exist until 1998 and a telephone area code that didn’t even exist in 1993 – leaving the judge fuming at the Harlem restaurant.
The judge said the Harlem Patsy’s – and its lawyer – would probably have to eat a big helping of humble pie for apparently garnishing their flimsy case with bogus paperwork and dishonest testimony.
He ordered the company to return to his court in April and try to convince him that he shouldn’t impose fines and a contempt citation on Brija and his lawyer.
A lawyer for the Harlem Patsy’s did not return a call for comment, and an employee at the pizzeria said there was no one there to speak about the case.
——–
TALE OF THE TAPE
Patsy’s Pizzeria
Location: First Avenue and 118th Street
Opened: 1933
Originally famous for: Neapolitan food, Pizza
Sinatra claim: Frank visited regularly – he was “godnephew” to previous owner
Lawsuit outcome: Lost
*
Patsy’s Restaurant
Location: 236 W. 56th St.
Opened: 1944
Originally famous for: Pastas
Sinatra claim: Frank had a special table upstairs and used a private entrance
Lawsuit outcome: Won