HYDE SQ.—All criminal complaints have been dropped in the heated dispute over the former Slice o’ Pie pizzeria at 378 Centre St., according to landlord John Meehan.
An Aug. 1 court hearing where Meehan faced a charge of making threats in the dispute ended with no criminal charges filed, according to a West Roxbury District Court official. Meehan said that a clerk magistrate at the hearing simply issued a mutual restraining order, lasting a year, for him and former pizzeria owner Eric Ciampa.
“I stay away from him. He stays away from me,” Meehan said.
Contacted by the Gazette, Ciampa said he could not immediately provide comment and said he would respond later, but did not.
Meehan said he still intends to reopen the pizza shop, which Ciampa abruptly closed in May, and has a broker working on selling it. He said he hopes a former Slice o’ Pie employee will own it.
Meehan and Ciampa had been locked in a battle over the shop’s closure, which was a surprise even to its employees.
Meehan filed a felony larceny complaint against Ciampa, alleging that Ciampa stole his equipment from the shop and used it at another restaurant. Ciampa previously told the Gazette that was not true.
Ciampa in turn filed complaints alleging that Meehan threatened him and his girlfriend as part of a plot to take over the shop. Meehan previously denied making one of the threats and acknowledged making another threatening statement, but only in response to what he said was similar talk from Ciampa.
Meehan said he skipped a previous court date in July because he and Ciampa had reached an agreement to mutually drop their complaints. To his surprise, he said, Ciampa went to court anyway.
After the court decided not to sustain the threat charges, Meehan said, he also agreed to drop his larceny complaint against Ciampa.