Richard Gere Not Paying His Employees

Friday, January 22, 2010, 17:17

The employees of restaurant owned by Richard Gere and his wife are struggling to get their pay cheques for over three months.

Gere with partner Russell Hernandez took over the Bedford Post Inn, the Tony Westchester farmhouse and revamped it. This celebrity restaurant has eight-room inn, restaurant, cafe and yoga studio.

Some yoga instructors at the inn who earn up to 75 dollars per class have had payment delayed for up to three months.

Multiple E-Mails and phone calls to accountants remain unanswered, leading them to stand outside the accounting office in a trailer near the main house to beg for their pay cheques.

"I find it humiliating," confesses one employee.

"It's the exact opposite of what yoga is about -- integrity, being honest," the employees added.

Vendors, too, have not received their payments.

One who did thousands of dollars worth of business with the inn said getting paid was unpleasant because managers, including Hernandez, were unreachable.

Meanwhile, a representative for the Bedford Post Inn responded, "Like all businesses, vendors for the Bedford Post submit their bills for approval and, once approved by the managers, they are paid within their payment terms. The Bedford Post is current on its vendor payments."

The representative debating the wrong views added that Gere and Lowell remain deeply involved with the property and are honest with their business.