The former owner of Saigon Grill was hauled off to jail Wednesday, and worker advocates said they hoped the restaurant's new owners were paying close attention to the news.  Simon Nget, the former owner of Saigon Grill on Amsterdam Avenue and West 90th Street, was sentenced to three months in prison in the wake of a state attorney general investigation that found Nget mistreated his workers.
Nget pleaded guilty to one felony count of falsifying business records, one misdemeanor count of witness tampering, and one misdemeanor count of retaliation under state labor law.
Workers at Saigon Grill are calling for a boycott of the restaurant; they say the restaurant's new owners are discriminating against older employees.  The restaurant, known for cheap Vietnamese food, is now under new ownership, but some say its employees are still suffering. Workers have been picketing outside the restaurant since December. They're calling for a boycott because, they say, the new owners retaliated against employees who tried to unionize and discriminated against older workers.

Josephine Lee, an organizer with the worker's rights group Justice Will Be Served, said she hoped Nget's jail time would send a message to Saigon Grill's new owners to follow labor laws. (click on link to read full story)