Human Trafficking Case against Local Pizza Chain Owner Got Help from BU LAW Clinic
Lawyers-in-training represent survivors in a state that’s busy prosecuting exploiters
Some workers exploited by convicted Boston human trafficker Stavros Papantoniadis, owner of a chain of local pizza shops, were represented by BU’s Immigrants’ Rights & Human Trafficking Program law students. Photo by Jonathan Wiggs via Getty Images
Human Trafficking Case against Local Pizza Chain Owner Got Help from BU LAW Clinic
Lawyers-in-training represent survivors in a state that’s busy prosecuting exploiters
Earlier this month, a jury convicted the owner of Boston pizzeria chain Stash’s of violence and threats against undocumented employees to extract long hours for little pay. Boston University’s Immigrant Rights & Human Trafficking Program represented some of the workers, including one who testified against owner Stavros Papantoniadis.
“My hope is that [Stash’s] is an important milestone,” says Julie Dahlstrom, director of the 12-year-old program at the School of Law. “I think it does indicate for survivors that there is an interest in moving these cases forward.” That interest hasn’t always been telegraphed to trafficking victims, says Dahlstrom, a clinical associate professor and LAW’s associate dean for experiential education.
The program’s trafficking work, conducted by Dahlstrom, another attorney funded through AmeriCorps, and eight BU LAW students, includes representing indigent victims of labor and sex trafficking, while advocating for policies that address systemic injustice. (Another eight students typically handle immigrants’ rights issues.) They do so in a state where the Massachusetts US Attorney’s Office is the busiest in the nation when it comes to prosecuting traffickers, says acting US Attorney Jonathan Levy.
Pursuing those cases, some local police departments use an app codeveloped by Dahlstrom’s program, the state, and BU Spark! (part of the Rafik B. Hariri Institute for Computing and Computational Science & Engineering). The app stores questions for investigators to ask suspected victims, information about relevant laws, and resources available to survivors.
BU Today spoke with Dahlstrom recently about the state of trafficking enforcement.
This article has been condensed for clarity and space.
Q&A
WIth Julie Dahlstrom
BU Today: Acting US Attorney Jonathan Levy says Massachusetts doesn’t have more trafficking than other states, but simply that it prioritizes prosecuting it more. True?
Dahlstrom: We’ve seen over the last 10 years a real evolution in Massachusetts about how we approach trafficking offenses. That’s been [due to] leadership at the US Attorney’s Office, the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office, and now the governor’s office. We’ve seen students and lawyers become educated about what trafficking is, how to identify it, and how to represent survivors. All of those things have culminated in more cases moving forward.
We’re still behind the ball in some ways. The pizza case is one of a very small number of labor trafficking prosecutions that have moved forward in our state. Labor trafficking cases are very difficult to prosecute.
BU Today: How many folks are being trafficked in Massachusetts?
Dahlstrom: It’s hard to say. Trafficking has historically been hard to quantify. We see the tip of the iceberg in terms of cases reported to law enforcement. Many survivors won’t step forward. [For] those who have reported to law enforcement, or have engaged with some nonprofit or our [program], we’re seeing an increase in cases. [Former US Attorney] Rachael Rollins set up a trafficking unit. The Attorney General’s office has a trafficking division, where they have specialized prosecutors and law enforcement assigned.
Our program represents individuals, and there are some other attorneys locally who are doing that work [as well]. As that grows, that means more survivors feel comfortable stepping forward and telling their stories.
BU Today: Can you give us a sense of how many cases your program handles and how they come to you?
Dahlstrom: We usually have a docket of 40 to 60 cases. We receive more labor trafficking cases from community-based organizations, and we see more sex trafficking cases referred from law enforcement. We receive more calls and cases than we can handle. That’s partly because we have a twofold focus, representing survivors, but also educating students and making sure that they can represent clients.
BU Today: What more should Massachusetts and other states be doing to root out trafficking?
Dahlstrom: We were the 48th state to pass legislation on trafficking. We came very late to the game. It went into effect in 2012. There was a statute [passed] to address vacating criminal offenses, related to the trafficking, for survivors. For example, survivors may be arrested for sex-for-fee—but they were a victim.
There are more efforts [needed] to address criminalized survivors of trafficking [beyond] sex-for-fee. It might be larceny that the victim was forced to engage in. We’re also seeing more serious offenses [such as] Cyntoia Brown [a Tennessee woman granted clemency after killing the john who’d picked her up as a trafficked teenager]. The rationale behind the crime was deeply related to the victimization that occurred.
There was a bill filed [in Massachusetts] around expanding compensation for survivors of trafficking. If you are in a trafficking situation, it’s very hard for you to exit [without resources], even if you have legal rights. We need more resources in terms of housing and indirect support, as well as legal services.
What are the root causes of trafficking? It varies. For noncitizens, [it could be] inability to access the immigration system, or for US citizens, aging out of foster care and having no available support. So I think what is more broadly needed is looking at those tremendous challenges.
BU Today: Can you update us on your app?
Dahlstrom: The Attorney General’s office has pushed it out to local law enforcement and prosecutors within the state. We just had a delegation from Thailand who was interested in adopting it.
It’s been successful in terms of increasing awareness about labor trafficking. We’re seeing, anecdotally, more cases come to us. We’d like to see it adopted by other jurisdictions. It was [mentioned] in a law review article recently.
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