A New York bartender won a civil claim for almost $500,000 against the man who runs Bermuda's Segway tours — but Robert Territo insists the case against him was false.

Mr. Territo and his wife Myra, who came here from Manhattan in 2004, were ordered by Judge Leland DeGrasse in New York's Supreme Court to pay Eugene Masat $489,926 for matters including breach of contract and fraud.

Mr. Masat won the action for money he says he ploughed into a Noho bar with the Territos but lost when he was forced out of the business, as well as profits he claims they never paid him.

He has provided The Royal Gazette with a copy of the contract for Masat Bar — signed by himself, the Territos and a witness on April 11, 2002 — which describes him as a partner entitled to 40 percent of the profits.

But father-of-two Mr. Territo told this newspaper that Mr. Masat was never a partner and only ever an employee, who was sacked and has since "stalked" him and his wife for cash they insist they do not owe him.

He said the judgement only went against him and Mrs. Territo, who is personal assistant to Cambridge Beaches president Mike Winfield, because they weren't in court, having already moved here.

He said there was no way they could have sold the business without Mr. Masat's consent if he had a legitimate stake.

Mr. Territo challenged Mr. Masat to pursue the case through Bermuda Supreme Court, where he said he would contest the claims. "It's a false case," he added.

The New York court judgement, dated April 28, 2006, shows that Mr. Masat and Vera Keller, a former chef and bartender at Bar Masat, asked at a hearing on February 27 that year for a default judgement against the Territos, who live in Somerset.

The judge found in their favour — awarding Mr. Masat the amount he said he was owed from the business, plus costs, and awarding 58-year-old Ms Keller $10,000 in damages for a false arrest and imprisonment she alleged was instigated by the Territos.

Ms Keller told this newspaper she and Mr. Masat were arrested for allegedly vandalising the bar but the case was dismissed in criminal court, hence the damages awarded to her. Mr. Masat, a part-time actor and Brooklyn bartender, has still not given up hope of recouping the cash from 42-year-old Mr. Territo, who is a minority shareholder in Segway Tours Bermuda Ltd., which has outlets in Dockyard and St. George's, and his wife.

The 40-year-old, originally from Istanbul, told this newspaper he became friends with Mr. Territo when the latter ran a café in Little Italy, with the pair agreeing to go into business together.

But the relationship turned sour just a few months after Bar Masat opened at 349 Broome Street, with Mr. Masat claiming that the locks were changed after he questioned the accounts.

A letter from Mr. Masat's lawyer Michael Berman on August 28, 2002, to attorneys representing the Territos stated: "Mr. Masat entered into a business relationship with your clients Robert and Myra Territo, wherein he invested $40,000 and entered into a contract with your clients regarding salary and division of profits."

The letter added: "Your clients have abrogated this agreement, forcefully locked Mr. Masat out of the business, converted the business assets for their personal use and have unilaterally changed the name of the business."

Mr. Masat said he never got his $40,000 back or the money he spent on goods and equipment for the bar. He discovered that Mr. Territo was in Bermuda after reading about him in the New York Times in September 2006 and issued a writ against him here the following year, which he has not yet pursued for financial reasons.

Mr. Territo was quoted in the NY Times article on property prices in Bermuda as saying that he sold his house on Staten Island and came here with a nest egg of about $500,000.

Mr. Territo's lawyer Richard Horseman said yesterday: "Mr. Masat filed a writ in the Supreme Court of Bermuda in September 2007 alleging breach of contract and conversion of property against Mr. and Mrs. Robert Territo. "We asked Mr. Masat to lodge a sum of funds in escrow in order to provide security for costs which is normal where a foreign plaintiff sues from abroad.

"Mr. Masat has chosen not to do so nor has he taken any steps in the court proceedings since initiating them in September 2007. "Our clients are defending the matter and, as the matter is before the courts, any further comment would be premature. Our clients look forward to vindicating themselves in a court of law should Mr. Masat choose to pursue any claims he may feel he has."