THE NATIONAL HERALD, JANUARY 11-17, 2014

GREEKS IN CANADA

By FrancesThemeliopoulos

TORONTO, Canada – Happy2014! Some of you may havebig plans for the year ahead thatinvolve achieving career goals –or you may even be launchinginto a long-desired shift thattakes you in an altogether dif-ferent career direction. That isjust what Toronto’s Peter Minakidid about three years ago. Heleft behind a successful careeras a financial advisor to cultivatehis budding secondary career –self-trained chef and blogger.

Minaki determined that thetime was right to devote greater

attention to his Kalofagas.cablog and expand the scope of hismonthly Greek Supper Clubevents. His accomplishmentshave been mounting ever sincebut one distinct highlight is thepublication of his first cookbook,the recently published, TheEverything Mediterranean Cook-book. You will be treated to awonderful collection of healthy,flavour-filled Mediterraneanrecipes, including family recipesthat Minaki trusts anyone canperfect with a bit of practice.

His interest in cooking beganyears ago and it was for purelypractical purposes. He pinpointsit to the earliest of what wouldbecome his parents’ annual vis-its to their summer home inHalkidiki, Greece. The year was1989. Minaki and his brotherinitially enjoyed bachelor-ishcuisine – heavy on grilled mealsand takeout – but his palettewas soon craving some of thefine Greek dishes to which hewas accustomed. It was in-evitable, he explains, in light ofthe fabulous Greek cuisine (andparticularly to dishes fromNorthern Greece since both ofhis parents are originally fromtowns in Nomo Florinis) that heenjoyed courtesy of his mentors.He praises his mother, father,maternal grandmother, andgreat aunts for teaching himmany traditional recipes and thetechniques he has been cultivat-ing over the years.

Minaki’s transition fromblogger to cookbook author wasseamless since he has beenamassing and refining therecipes on his Kalofagas site forthe past several years and theprospects just keep on coming.Opportunities for some cross-border culinary adventure arosein recent years, with events incities ranging from Buffalo to

Manhattan, and most recentlyChicago. His experimentationin the blogosphere, as he tells itbegan in 2007 and coincidedwith a purchase of a new digitalcamera. He began providing de-liciously appealing photo evi-dence of the recipes he wascooking and his blog’s popular-ity has been growing steadilyever since. Kalofagas’ readershipcurrently generates approxi-mately 70 000 page views permonth.

The inextricable link be-tween food and Greek hospital-ity, the philoxenia that is diffi-cult to define for our non-Greekfriends, factors heavily into the

experience Minaki offers the at-tendees at his events. He enjoysproviding fun, informative,shared cooking/dining experi-ences. So, what is he currentlyjuggling? In addition to his blog,he hosts the aforementionedGreek Supper Clubs, providespersonalized catering services,does pop-up dinners upon spe-cial request, and has even begunhosting culinary food tours. Hehas travelled to almost everypart of Greece, from Thrace toMessinia and Laconia to Epirusand parts in between. His visitsto Mediterranean countries in-clude trips to Italy and Turkey.

What of Minaki’s career re-lated goals for 2014? More free-lance culinary endeavours! Helooks forward to further experi-mentation and opportunities toincorporate his own personalflair into yet more recipes as heworks toward a collection forhis second cookbook. Don’t besurprised to hear of a KalofagasSupper Club event happeningnear you as Minaki will be trav-eling to more destinations. Jan-uary’s travels took him to somestops in Quebec as well asChicago for two very successfulevents at the National HellenicMuseum and Avli restaurant. Heenjoys the opportunity to plantheme-specific events such asthe upcoming Tsiknopempti-Greek Carnival season SupperClub event in Toronto on Feb-ruary 20th. He has alreadybooked three 2014 culinarytours in Greece so far and plansto explore another medium byfilming some cooking demo seg-ments during his tours.

For more information abouthow to purchase Peter Minaki’sEverything Mediterranean cook-book, his Greek Supper Clubs,and his Culinary Tours visit:www.kalofagas.ca

After brief remarks and aQ&A open to all, he chattedwith his team’s devotees in theclub and as he walked throughthe streets of Astoria.

The guests were first wel-comed by fan club PresidentTheodore Menis, who is fromSyros and has been president ofthe chapter for 18 years. He saidit is the biggest chapter in theDiaspora, but he thanked Mari-nakis and Olympiacos for thecooperation that enables it tothrive, and he said the members’“hearts beat for Olympiacoshere as in Piraeus.”

In response, Marinakis hesaid was overwhelmed by thelove he experiences when he vis-its clubs like that in Astoria.

As devoted to winning as anySteinbrenner and has the cham-pionships to prove it, Marinakisis also proud of the organiza-tion’s youth and philanthropicdimensions. The team’s socceracademy benefits Greek youthin general and has provided theteam with players through theyears. Proceeds from his teams,as is the case with his shippingcompanies, are donated to char-ity, especially those helpingGreek children during the eco-nomic crisis.

Marinakis was proud to saythe team’s course is good, andhe emphasized that his company,which owns other entities, in-cluding basketball teams, alsogoes against the current by fight-ing against corruption and be-haviors “that have ruined teams.”

He chose not to commentwhen he was asked by the me-dia about his competitors, not-ing simply “who is a crook andwho is involved in illegal busi-ness practices those peopleknow themselves, but the statemust pay attention because helive in a society that is beingtested every day, and it is wrongfor certain people not to obeythe law and for the law not tobe enforced for them. All of usmust pay our taxes and othercharges.”

He used the English word“fair” to express the need for

level legal and economic playingfields in Greece.

“In America you understandthat a community moves for-ward when people work hardand when they see a man or acompany progress, they con-sider it an example to be fol-lowed and we must do the samethis in Greece so that things canget better,” he said.

He wished everyone a happyand healthy New Year and saidthe team is ready for the seasons2nd round and is hopeful re-garding the European champi-onships, saying “everything ispossible with hard work andfaith...when you work hard forwhat you want you have noth-ing to fear.”

He said the core of his mis-sion will be to attract greatGreek players, but is also proudof the team’s ability to attracttalent from all over the world.

More and more Greek-Amer-icans and their children are

playing soccer and Marinakisreached out to them, urgingthem to develop their apprecia-tion of soccer by followingOlympiacos. They can be seenon cable through Antenna TV.

The owner agreed with TNHthat Olympiacos is “The Yankeesof Greece – they own a record40 Greek League titles and 26Greek Cups .

The club’s pleasant space isfilled with tables where fans canenjoy coffee, drinks, and foodfrom the kitchen in the rear justabout every day. Volunteers likesoccer lovers Maria Toubatziand Maria Iliopoulos from Naf-paktos, along with HaralambosAdamides, a native of Kavalla,make sure the members enjoythemselves.

Panagiotis Georgiou fromAthens in New York for the hol-idays visiting his daughterDionysia, who is studying ballet,attended. Pavlos Malonoukos, abiology major at Hofstra Univer-

sity who wants to be a dentistand whose family is fromRhodes, is a big fan. Inspiredand encouraged by his father,Tsambikos, who is a member ofthe Club’s Board of Directors,also joined the board. “The pres-ident wants more young peopleand our main focus is to bringpeople together. If you are anOlympiacos fan, you are part ofour family,” he said.

John Kriaras, past presidentof the Cretans Association Omo-nia, told TNH he was overjoyedby Marinakis’ presence not onlybecause he is a fan but becausethey are both from Heraklion,Crete.

Fr. George Anstasiou, thepastor of the Church of theTransfiguration in Corona anda big Olympiacos fan, presidedover the prayers for the blessingof the Vasilopita New Year’scake, which was donated by thefamous Lefkos Pirgos pastry andcoffee shop.

Olympiacos Owner Marinakis Welcomed in Astoria

Now His Stocks are Cooked in a Pot. Peter Minaki left a suc-cessful career as a financial advisor to do what he loves best:cook, and write about it. His first cookbook, recently published,is titled: The Everything Mediterranean Cookbook.

The fans of Greece’s most popular soccer team, Olympiacos,packed the red-themed clubhouse on 30th Avenue in Astoria

on Jan. 3 as they waited for the team’s president, EvangelosMarinakis, and the cutting of the New Year’s Vasilopita.

Continued from page 1

Olympiakos owner/president, flanked by Fr. George Anastasiou and Theodore Menis, wishesfans a happy New Year. He was accompanied by his son, seated to the left of Menis.

PHOTOS: TNH/COSTAS BEJ

COMMUNITY6

Toronto’s Peter Minaki NowDeals with Stocks…in a Pot

“A book is a gift you can open

...again and again.”

The National Herald Bookstore(718) 784-5255

info@thenationalherald.com

FT. LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Amob figure prosecutors said di-rectly the gangland-style killingof Miami Subs founder Konstan-tinos “Gus” Boulis, is now serv-ing a life sentence for a murderdescribed as unusually cruel andcallous.

Anthony “Little Tony” Ferrari,56, was convicted in the killingof Boulis on Feb. 6, 2001 but es-caped the death penalty soughtby prosecutor Gregg Rossman al-though parole has been ruled out.

“The justice system wins andfamilies don’t ever get theirloved one back — we can’t bringthose back — but we can givethem some semblance of so-lace,” Rossman said after theDec. 17 sentencing, the Ft.Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel re-ported. Ferrari was also sen-tenced to 30 years in prison forconspiracy to commit murder.

During Ferrari’s sentencing,Boulis’ sister, Mersina Koumouli-did, sat in court while Rossmanread a handwritten letter on herbehalf in court.

“We still need prayers, faithand support to overcome thenext trial, Moscatiello, in orderto start healing from this tragicloss,” Rossman read. “TakingMr. Gus Boulis away in thatmanner, that great man, is noteasy to overcome. He was andis the example of the Americandream,” he said. “May his mem-ory be eternal.”

The state offered only twowitnesses in the penalty phaseof the case, relying instead onevidence presented during anearly month-long trial that alsocentered on Boulis’ role as for-mer owner of the SunCruz Casi-nos gambling fleet.

Rossman said Ferrari wasmotivated by money — a power

struggle over the lucrative Sun-Cruz ships. “The facts you needto determine this you’ve alreadyheard,” Rossman told jurors. “Isthere any pretense, any imag-ined moral justification in themind of the person who com-mitted this crime? I submit thereis none.”

Trial evidence showed thatBoulis, 51, was shot to death bya mob hit man as he sat in hiscar on a downtown Fort Laud-erdale street. Witnesses testifiedthe killing was orchestrated byFerrari and Anthony “Big Tony”Moscatiello, a reputed memberof New York’s Gambino crimefamily. Both had well-payingcontracts with SunCruz underits new owners that were threat-

ened by Boulis, witnesses said.A few months earlier, Boulis

had sold the fleet to New Yorkbusinessman Adam Kidan —who knew Moscatiello andsought him out for his pur-ported mob ties — and then-powerhouse Washington lobby-ist Jack Abramoff. Kidan andAbramoff later pleaded guilty tofraud in the $147.5 million Sun-Cruz deal and served federalprison time.

Moscatiello, 75, is alsocharged with murder and wason trial with Ferrari until his at-torney became ill. Moscatiello,who has pleaded not guilty, willbe retried later. The alleged hitman was later killed himself ina dispute with a Boca Raton del-

icatessen owner.Prosecutors say that

Moscatiello ordered the hit andFerrari conspired to carry outthe murder plot in an attemptto control the SunCruz Casinoboat fleet. Boulis was shot todeath in his car as he left hisFort Lauderdale office.

James “Pudgy” Fiorillo wasthe third man implicated in themurder and pleaded guilty toconspiracy in 2012. He testifiedthat he served as a lookout onthe night that Boulis was mur-dered. He will be sentenced af-ter Moscatiello’s trial.

Prosecutors believe the gun-man who shot Boulis four timeswas John Gurino, who was laterkilled in a dispute two years af-ter Boulis was slain.

Testifying in his own defense,Ferrari claimed that anotherconspirator committed the mur-der and that Kidan was behindthe plot. Kidan, however, testi-fied that both Ferrari andMoscatiello had confessed thecrime to him. The other conspir-ator, James “Pudgy” Fiorillo, ad-mitted conducting surveillanceof Boulis and getting rid of themurder weapon, but said he didnot shoot Boulis.

The main state witness wasSpiro Naos, one of Boulis’nephews, who said that Boulis— a Greek immigrant who builthis businesses from scratch —frequently hired new immi-grants, helped them find hous-ing and offered other assistance.

“Gus was the best living ex-ample of the American dreamand he was willing to share it,”Naos said. “There will never beanother Gus Boulis.”

(Material from the AssociatedPress was used in this report)

Gangland-Style Slayer of Gus Boulis Gets Jail for Life

Anthony "Little Tony" Ferrari in court in Florida before beingfound guilty in the mob-style murder of Gus Boulis in 2001