Miami Restaurant Heir Charged With Fatally Stabbing His Mother

Miami, Florida — A Mexican businessman tied to the restaurant group behind Cambalache and Puerto Madero has been arrested in Miami and charged with fatally stabbing his mother, who had traveled from Mexico to visit him.

Stefano Cremasco-Cicero, 36, was taken into custody after police responded to a call for help at the Solitair Brickell luxury apartment tower in the early hours of Sept. 3, according to a report by El Nuevo Herald.

Officers arriving around 5:00 a.m. found Cremasco-Cicero in the lobby with blood on his clothes, hands and shoes. “I was defending myself,” he told authorities, the newspaper reported.

The victim had recently flown in from Mexico to stay with her son, a detail confirmed to police by the suspect’s wife, who was in France at the time. The wife also told investigators that mother and son had grown distant after his parents’ divorce.

Inside the 47th-floor apartment, police found bloodstained kitchen knives, red-stained clothing and broken wine bottles. Surveillance footage from the building shows the victim and the suspect returning alone to the apartment at 10:32 p.m.

At 4:26 a.m., Cremasco-Cicero rode the elevator down carrying a knife and wearing stained clothing. After changing his shirt and briefly stepping outside, he returned to the lobby and asked a food delivery worker to call 911.

He is being held at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center on a second-degree murder charge. He also faces an immigration detainer, having lived in the United States on an investor visa.

Cremasco-Cicero served as U.S. operations manager for Grupo Orfano, which opened the Argentine steakhouse 1986 Steak House in Coconut Grove in May. The restaurant’s name honors Argentina’s victory at the 1986 World Cup, which was held in Mexico.

He is the son of Oscar Daniel Cremasco Scattolini, who was born in Argentina, later became a Mexican citizen and owns Grupo Cambalache in Mexico, a leading name in Argentine cuisine known for USDA Prime cuts and fish and seafood imported from Canada and the United States.

“Our science of cooking over the grill is what defines us,” the group says, adding that its own wines grown in Mendoza, Argentina, combine with the food to create a dining experience for lovers of good eating. The company describes itself as a classic benchmark for Argentine cooking and grilling in Mexico, operating since 1986 with a focus on high quality and excellent service.