Carmel Restaurant Owner Arrested for Alleged Rape
Lani Zaimi, the owner of Ariano’s Trattoria in Mahopac and Ariano’s II in Carmel, was arrested Friday morning for allegedly raping an 18-year-old woman last month, Carmel police reported.
On July 31 Zaimi, 43, allegedly served alcohol to an underage female employee at Ariano’s II, then took her to another of his businesses and sexually assaulted her, according to police. The arrest followed a joint investigation by the Carmel Police Detective Division and the Putnam County District Attorney’s Office, police said.
Zaimi was arrested at around 11:42 Friday and indicted by a grand jury and faces charges of third-degree rape and third-degree criminal sex act, both felonies, as well as unlawfully dealing with a child, a misdemeanor, police said. He was remanded to the Putnam County jail in lieu of $25,000 cash bail or $50,000 bond.
A worker at Ariano’s in Mahopac, reached by phone, said he was unaware of the arrest.
Police have asked anyone with information possibly related to the incident to contact the DA’s office at (845) 808-1059 or 808-1058.
