ROMAN v. NEWSOM: A CONSTITUTIONAL BATTLEGROUND

Tony Roman and Basilico’s Stand Against COVID Tyranny

The fight against the tyranny of the COVID-19 pandemic is far from over. In the heart of Huntington Beach, California, Tony Roman and his family-owned Italian restaurant, Basilico’s Pasta e Vino, continues to take a stand after proclaiming itself a “Constitutional Battleground” in 2020.

Since opening its doors in 1999, Basilico’s has served authentic Italian cuisine to the Huntington Beach community. Under the ownership of Roman’s late mother, Rosemarie, Basilico’s high standards for both food and service led it to attain icon status. For eighteen years, Rosemarie witnessed first dates and marriage proposals, hosted reunions and parties—forging incredible friendships with her community.

When Rosemarie’s health began to decline in 2017, Tony Roman designed and built a new venue for Basilico’s, to honor and pay tribute to his mother. Under Roman’s leadership, Basilico’s continued to flourish and remain true to its roots. He then assumed an increasingly active role in managing Basilico’s to ensure that the restaurant would continue to thrive and to maintain his mother’s high standards for serving the best Italian cooking.

Following Governor Gavin Newsom’s Emergency COVID orders in 2020, Basilico’s proclaimed itself a “Constitutional Battleground” in the fight for freedom in America. Taking the position that the United States was not built to be locked down, Roman vowed to do his part to defend our Nation’s principles of liberty and freedom. Basilico’s refused to shut down, allowed patrons inside, and pushed back against the so-called mandates, instead banning masks and requiring “proof of being unvaccinated” for entry. Roman made a number of media appearances, in which he specifically criticized Newsom’s public health orders as being unconstitutional. Additionally, Tony rented out billboards criticizing the governor’s mask and vaccine mandates. Basilico’s became a beacon of freedom for Californians who believe that no one should ever be classified as “non-essential” and that the government should never have the power to shut down law-abiding citizens and businesses. And while its doors were open during the pandemic, Basilico’s had no instances of illness or death attributable to COVID-19.

This unwavering stand for freedom did not go unnoticed. Roman and Basilico’s became targets of the city, the county, the state, the federal government, the media, Hollywood, and his fellow citizens who threatened to burn down the restaurant and even kill him. Further, Basilico’s landlord attempted to evict the business in retaliation.

Basilico’s then began receiving unannounced “visits” from Cal-OSHA inspectors who wanted to enter the premises and conduct an “investigation.” Roman refused. A campaign of intimidation and disruption continued for months. In one instance, a Cal-OSHA agent even admitted that Basilico’s was being targeted due to its outspoken defiance of the lockdown mandates. Then, in August 2023, without any notice, Basilico’s entire bank account was levied by the Department of Industrial Relations (which oversees Cal-OSHA). Roman was ultimately fined approximately $185,000—an amount so excessive that it jeopardized Basilico’s very survival.

In a stark contrast, Foster Farms (which has 3,000 employees and had 9 COVID deaths) was fined less than Basilico’s.

It was later determined that the levy “notice” Cal-OSHA sent to Roman was sent to the wrong address. This error is very curious, seeing as Cal-OSHA sent agents to Basilico’s before, so it’s clear they had the correct address. If this “notice” was sent to the correct address, Roman would have had 15 days to appeal. In short, not only did the government fail to provide due process to Roman and Basilico’s, but they also retaliated against him with disproportionately high fines for exercising his free speech rights. Additionally, they also violated the Eighth Amendment’s excessive fines prohibitions.

In order to stop the impending levies and prevent further unconstitutional conduct, Roman and Basilico’s sued Governor Newsom, and Cal-OSHA for unlawfully acting under color of the California Labor Code, including unlawfully imposing a fine against Basilico’s. Further, these wrongful actions violated the due process rights guaranteed by the Fifth Amendment and the excessive fine violated the Eighth Amendment—protections guaranteed to the citizens of California by the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. Moreover, the Supreme Court’s ruling in National Federation (cited in Roman’s complaint) held that COVID fell out of OSHA’s jurisdiction in terms of regulation. This means that such a fine should never have been implemented in the first place because Cal-OSHA never had the authority to implement or regulate COVID-related policies.

So where does this critical case go from here? The government is asking for this case to be dismissed, but Roman and his legal team are not backing down. Roman sees this lawsuit as a fight on behalf of all Americans. In the face of these overwhelming odds, Basilico’s is still standing and will always be a fortress for freedom for our great Nation.

Tony Roman and Basilico’s are represented by the Law Offices of Heather Gibson, P.C., which is dedicated to fighting on behalf of those who might not otherwise have a voice. Learn more about this case and how you can support this litigation HERE.