New Castle—
Two dozen employees at a New Castle restaurant are out of a job and haven't been paid while the owner is at the center of a very public FBI probe. The open sign is turned off at Ristorante. The doors are locked and a letter posted on the window reads "closed until further notice."
The message comes from the owner of the restaurant, embattled financier Tim Durham.
He told managers three weeks ago that he could not put any more money into the restaurant.
Since then, employees have not been paid and have not worked.
Employees say they began to see the writing on the wall more than six months ago but still tried to make it work.
Sources told FOX59 it would take $52,000 to pay bills and unpaid taxes. It would take an estimated $8,000 to pay employees.
"What I really want out of it is for us to be paid and the restaurant reopened to where it was," said employee Deborah McWhorter.
The employees are considering filing a suit against Durham Restaurants, LLC.
FOX59 News is told the restaurant's general manager, Tom Banner, is holding seven of his paychecks to help pay employees.
Durham's Ristorante has not officially closed.
Tim Durham has not been charged with a crime and denies he ever defrauded investors.
