Pizzeria chain offers job to 30-year-old New York man evicted by parents
A 30-year-old New York man who's being evicted from his parents' home may finally have some luck coming his way. After hearing about Michael Rotondo's personal woes, one national pizza chain decided to offer him a job.
After months of ignoring eviction notices and offers of cash, Rotondo was ordered by a state judge on Tuesday to move out of his parents' house in upstate New York. He has to leave by June 1, according to a court filing reviewed by CBS News.
Part of the reason Rotondo says he hasn't left for a new place is because he's jobless. But Andrew Steinberg, chief operating officer of the quick-service pizza chain Villa Italian Kitchen, wants to take a chance on him because he knows millennials have it "tough out there."
"At Villa, we feel for millennials, across the board," Steinberg said. "With that said…Michael, hey dude. We are offering you a store-level gig, complete with extensive training to get you up to speed, at any one of our 250 locations worldwide."
Steinberg's offer also comes with a "signing bonus" of sorts as an extra incentive.
"We heard your parents offered you $1,100 to get out. We'll do you one better. Literally, one. Offer from us is on the table for $1,101 to come join our team. Consider it a signing bonus. We gotchu, bud."
The Rotondos family drama played out this week in a Syracuse courtroom.
The college-educated Rotondo has been living with his parents, Mark and Christina, for eight years after losing his job. They told the judge they've had enough and have tried about everything, including offering him money, to get him to move out.
"They said, 'you need to get a job, you need to get health insurance,'" he said.
In the time that he's been at home, Rotondo said he's never been expected to contribute to household expenses or assist with chores or the maintenance of the property. He blames his so-called "failure to launch" on a custody battle he's been waging over his own son.
"I'm getting my son back, that's what I'm doing," he said.
But Judge Donald Greenwood agreed with mom and dad that he can do that somewhere else.
"I'm granting the eviction," he ruled.
Rontondo told CNN on Wednesday that he "doesn't want to live there anymore," but needed more time to move out.