North End Restaurant Owner Allegedly Opened Fire Outside Modern Pastry

Patrick Mendoza, an owner of North End Italian restaurant Monica’s Trattoria, has been charged with assault to murder after allegedly opening fire outside of famed Boston bakery Modern Pastry last Wednesday, the Boston Globe reports. Police are currently searching for Mendoza, who remains at large as of Monday.

According to the police report outlined in the Globe, Mendoza was reportedly riding a bicycle down Hanover Street on July 12 and, after swearing at alleged victim Rocco Giovanello, pulled a gun out of his waistband and allegedly shot twice at Giovanello. Giovanello wasn’t hit, but one of the two shots struck Modern Pastry’s front window.

Giovanello told police that he and Mendoza have been clashing for years, according to the Globe report. Mendoza had previously been on probation after being convicted of assault and battery in December 2022. That incident also involved Giovanello — in 2019, following a traffic dispute, Mendoza reportedly struck him in the head with a glass bottle and, along with his brother Frank Mendoza, punched and kicked Giovanello in the street.

This isn’t the only time that Mendoza has been in the news this year. He also was involved in a lawsuit in which four North End restaurateurs (including Mendoza) tried to argue that the city’s controversial, North End-specific outdoor dining fees were unconstitutional. In an amendment to the lawsuit filed earlier this year, they accused mayor Michelle Wu of being biased against Italian Americans and white men. The lawsuit was dismissed earlier this summer.