Teh One Who Knocks
02-27-2014, 11:52 AM
By Matthias Gafni - Contra Costa Times
PITTSBURG -- Joseph Mosis felt betrayed.
At the request of the local Egyptian community, the 52-year-old business owner had stepped up to help a fellow countryman moving from the East Coast. Mosis offered him a job and shelter, only to have the friend file a successful complaint for back pay, according to a Contra Costa County prosecutor.
Incensed, Mosis hired a hit man and told him to break the former employee's legs, and to cut off his penis and tongue, said prosecutor Mary Knox. The hit man, however, was actually an undercover Pittsburg police officer, and Mosis, the owner of Monsam Enterprises, a plastic-cutting and aluminum-framing company in Antioch that specializes in portable sinks, was arrested and charged with one count of attempted aggravated mayhem.
Mosis made his first court appearance Wednesday but did not enter a plea after his public defender was granted a delay. Mosis, wearing glasses and the jail-issued yellow jumpsuit, said nothing. He faces up to nine years in state prison.
The two men were introduced to each other after Mosis agreed to let him sleep in his business on the Antioch-Pittsburg Highway in Antioch, and gave him a job at the company, which claims to offer the largest variety of portable sinks.
Mosis eventually fired his employee for an unknown reason, Knox said.
On July 26, state records show, a man filed a claim for about $10,500 in back pay with the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement in Oakland. He claimed Mosis failed to pay him more than 500 hours of overtime and meal and rest allowances for more than 100 days, according to the state records.
On Sept. 11, the pair settled, and Mosis paid him $4,500, according to file notes from the enforcement action. It was unclear if that case was filed by the intended victim of the attack.
"He felt betrayed," Knox said of Mosis.
From then on, Mosis became infatuated with taking revenge and hatched the bizarre plot, Knox said.
"Mosis kept speaking to another employee about hiring an enforcer," the prosecutor said.
That employee tried to ignore Mosis, but when he kept insisting, he began fearing for his job if he did not perform the task, Knox said. That employee liked the intended target as a friend, so instead reported Mosis' plot to police, she said.
A meeting was arranged with an undercover officer who was introduced as a hit man. Meeting in an unmarked police car, investigators recorded the solicitation, Knox said, where Mosis provided a "menu of hurting options."
"He asked the enforcer to break a leg or two, cut off his penis and cut off his tongue," Knox said. "He would like him to suffer."
Mosis agreed to pay about $2,000 for the attack, the prosecutor said.
After the meeting, Mosis went to his truck and gave the undercover officer a photo of the intended victim, that man's phone number and set the attack in motion, Knox said.
Police arrested Mosis late Friday after searching his Pittsburg home and Antioch business. He remains in County Jail in Martinez on $1.5 million bail.
Calls to Mosis' home and business were not returned Wednesday.
The business owner has no criminal record. Online profiles, news releases and interviews portray a savvy business owner.
In August, Mosis joined the East Bay Tech Tinkerers, Experimenters and Entrepreneurs group on Meetup.com. His online profile says he's interested in 3-D printing and fabrication.
PITTSBURG -- Joseph Mosis felt betrayed.
At the request of the local Egyptian community, the 52-year-old business owner had stepped up to help a fellow countryman moving from the East Coast. Mosis offered him a job and shelter, only to have the friend file a successful complaint for back pay, according to a Contra Costa County prosecutor.
Incensed, Mosis hired a hit man and told him to break the former employee's legs, and to cut off his penis and tongue, said prosecutor Mary Knox. The hit man, however, was actually an undercover Pittsburg police officer, and Mosis, the owner of Monsam Enterprises, a plastic-cutting and aluminum-framing company in Antioch that specializes in portable sinks, was arrested and charged with one count of attempted aggravated mayhem.
Mosis made his first court appearance Wednesday but did not enter a plea after his public defender was granted a delay. Mosis, wearing glasses and the jail-issued yellow jumpsuit, said nothing. He faces up to nine years in state prison.
The two men were introduced to each other after Mosis agreed to let him sleep in his business on the Antioch-Pittsburg Highway in Antioch, and gave him a job at the company, which claims to offer the largest variety of portable sinks.
Mosis eventually fired his employee for an unknown reason, Knox said.
On July 26, state records show, a man filed a claim for about $10,500 in back pay with the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement in Oakland. He claimed Mosis failed to pay him more than 500 hours of overtime and meal and rest allowances for more than 100 days, according to the state records.
On Sept. 11, the pair settled, and Mosis paid him $4,500, according to file notes from the enforcement action. It was unclear if that case was filed by the intended victim of the attack.
"He felt betrayed," Knox said of Mosis.
From then on, Mosis became infatuated with taking revenge and hatched the bizarre plot, Knox said.
"Mosis kept speaking to another employee about hiring an enforcer," the prosecutor said.
That employee tried to ignore Mosis, but when he kept insisting, he began fearing for his job if he did not perform the task, Knox said. That employee liked the intended target as a friend, so instead reported Mosis' plot to police, she said.
A meeting was arranged with an undercover officer who was introduced as a hit man. Meeting in an unmarked police car, investigators recorded the solicitation, Knox said, where Mosis provided a "menu of hurting options."
"He asked the enforcer to break a leg or two, cut off his penis and cut off his tongue," Knox said. "He would like him to suffer."
Mosis agreed to pay about $2,000 for the attack, the prosecutor said.
After the meeting, Mosis went to his truck and gave the undercover officer a photo of the intended victim, that man's phone number and set the attack in motion, Knox said.
Police arrested Mosis late Friday after searching his Pittsburg home and Antioch business. He remains in County Jail in Martinez on $1.5 million bail.
Calls to Mosis' home and business were not returned Wednesday.
The business owner has no criminal record. Online profiles, news releases and interviews portray a savvy business owner.
In August, Mosis joined the East Bay Tech Tinkerers, Experimenters and Entrepreneurs group on Meetup.com. His online profile says he's interested in 3-D printing and fabrication.