The owner of a Long Island catering firm that allegedly violated Jewish dietary law, or kashrut, will eventually have a higher authority to answer to if he in fact failed to keep the faith. For now, however, Scott Morrell, owner of Morrell Caterers, will stand in judgment before a more earthly court.
Former Chef Michael Savitsky and former general manager Tom Cataldo have filed court papers claiming that they were told by Morrell starting in September 2010 to prepare non-kosher foods, including shellfish and pork, using the same facilities, china, and flatware employed in the service of kosher foods. In so doing, Morrell was in violation of the Jewish prohibition against preparing kosher and non-kosher meals in the same environment and using the same kitchen and serving equipment.
Savitsky and Cataldo estimate that at least 200 weddings, bar and bat mitzvahs, and other events were tainted by the preparation of kosher and non-kosher meals at the same facility.
Cataldo told ABC News:
As times got rough, business was down a bit due to several factors, there was another way to bring in additional revenue. Unfortunately this was the shortcut that Mr. Morrell started to take.
Savitsky and Cataldo each own a 5% stake in the business, a factor that initially made them reluctant to report Morrell’s alleged religious transgressions.
But Morrell insists the claims are bogus. "I have never violated any rules," he said last week at a press conference on the steps of the state Supreme Court building in Mineola, just east of New York City. "This is a very calculated and cynical deliberate way of destroying my company."
He is referring to an unrelated $19 million lawsuit mounted by his accusers, whom he claims are attempting to get traction by falsely alleging he is violating dietary edict.
At the press conference, Morrell was flanked by two rabbis, one of whom, Abraham Alper, declared, "I have personally witnessed him apply the highest standards of Jewish law to food preparation."
Ronald Rosenberg, an attorney for Morrell, questioned the motivation of his client's accusers:
What made them find God now? If these people who are saying they were so moral were given these immoral orders to violate kosher rules, why now are they coming clean?
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