Pizza chain boss Frank Criniti to be sentenced on ex-wife’s assault
Frank Criniti, whose famed Sydney pizza and pasta chain is now in liquidation, is due to be sentenced for assaulting his estranged wife Rima.
Restaurants & Bars
Don't miss out on the headlines from Restaurants & Bars. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Pizza and pasta empire boss Frank Criniti, whose trendy Criniti’s chain is now in receivership, is due to be sentenced today for assaulting his ex-wife Rima Tannous.
Criniti, who threatened his wife with “I’m going to smack you in the head” before kicking her, also faces multiple apprehended violence orders (AVOs) from close relatives.
The assault against Ms Tannous occurred after their once booming business, patronised by Italian soccer stars, TV personalities and company executives, collapsed last year.
Police also alleged Criniti contravened an AVO.
The 40-year-old is also due to appear in Burwood Local Court today on two charges of assault occasioning actual bodily harm.
Violence order applications by police to protect his younger brother Dominic, Dominic’s wife Lourdes and other family members will be mentioned at Burwood.
A two year AVO protecting Rima Tannous was confirmed in February.
On bail, Criniti is under strict conditions of not being able to assault or threaten his brother, his sister-in-law and two others, or stalk, harass or intimidate them, or intentionally or recklessly destroy or damage their property.
Criniti and Ms Tannous, who are divorced, co-founded Criniti’s which had restaurants in Sydney, Wollongong, Newcastle, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth.
The chain, which included signature outlets at Manly and the Woolloomooloo Finger Wharf, were fronted by Rima and Dominic Criniti.
But in December last year, just a month after receivers took over the empire, Criniti assaulted Ms Tannous at Castle Towers shopping centre in northwestern Sydney.
He kicked her and said “shut your mouth I’m going to smack you in the head”.
At the time, administrators had moved in to restructure Criniti’s after closing down five of its 13 restaurants, and new investors were sought to take over what was left of the chain.
A further Criniti’s restaurant shut in January.
The former couple, who have three children together, endured a messy 2015 divorce.
According to court documents, on December 29 last year Ms Tannous was standing with shopping bags outside the Peter Alexander sleepwear shop on level three of Castle Towers.
“The accused has approached the victim where a brief conversation took place,” court documents state.
Criniti was heard threatening his ex-wife to shut up or he’d hit her, followed by, “I’ve been thinking about it.”
He then “raised his leg and made a sweeping motion and kicked (Ms Tannous) … to the right leg, just above her knee causing her immediate pain to the region”.
Criniti then stopped as Ms Tannous “began to get the attention of passers-by with raised voices”.
Criniti then left the location and Ms Tannous “took advantage of the timing” and fled in her vehicle to the adjacent Castle Hill police station, where she made a statement.
Police arrested Criniti the following day in Sydney’s CBD and charged him with one count of domestic violence-related assault.
Last month, he pleaded guilty to the charge and is listed to be sentenced today at Burwood.
In a statement sent to news.com.au Ms Tannous said she hadn’t wanted the incident to be made public “for the sake of my children”, but had spoken out as it had become “a talking point for others”.
RELATED: Co-founder of Criniti’s chain pleads guilty to domestic assault
“I want to make it clear that domestic violence isn’t a women’s issue – it is a humankind issue and one that should outrage both women and men,” she said.
“And we need to raise our expectations of what it means to be a man, and confront all forms of disrespect.
“Men who respect themselves will choose to respect others. And if they don’t, I urge them to get help.
“There is no fear in love, and a relationship that involves fear should not be tolerated or dismissed as normal.”
Ms Tannous also spoke out last year after Criniti’s collapse, saying she could not “stay silent any longer” about the problems that had plagued the family business.
She said she was “devastated” at the loss of jobs and the restaurant’s faltering reputation with customers who complained of expensive, poor quality food.
“Criniti’s was my first baby and I am really proud of what I helped to build at the beginning,” she said in November.
“I put in a lot of hard work to get Criniti’s to a place that it was both successful and stable and felt that I could take the time to step back and focus on my children.”
Originally published as Pizza chain boss Frank Criniti to be sentenced on ex-wife’s assault