Finger-in-chili investigation widens

[Catchawave]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7425950/

SAN JOSE, Calif. - Investigators searched the Las Vegas home of a woman who claimed she scooped up a mouthful of finger along with her chili at a Wendy’s restaurant last month.

more...

[MADem]

1. It was her dead aunt's finger, apparently

UGH. DNA is a pesky thing. What a stupid, greedy, vicious woman.

[lectrobyte]

3. Really? Is there a link to that somewhere? Thanks! nt

[Skittles]

5. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

OMG how f***ing DISGUSTING. And I actually SYMPATHIZED with her?

[satireV]

9. Apparently NOT.

She claims all her aunt's are alive.

DNA is indeed a pesky thing. Especially for sanctimonius cops and prosecutors who find their wrongly convicted defendents released time after time.

Of course the media is totally supporting their fellow corp, Wendy's, in all this and slanting it to make the victim look like the perp and Wendy's as totally innocent.

First, I would love to see the search warrant that lists probable cause to search her home in Las Vegas for an incident that happened in San Jose.


satireV

[MADem]

11. Oh, PLEASE--this is a "victim?"

A professional victim, maybe. This isn't a case of media bias, this a con woman who went a step too far: http://www.10tv.com/Global/story.asp?S=3187218

Ayala has a history of filing lawsuits - including a claim against another fast-food restaurant.

Ayala, 39, who hired a San Jose, Calif., attorney to represent her in the Wendy's case, has been involved in at least half a dozen legal battles in the San Francisco Bay area, according to court records.

She brought a suit against an ex-boss in 1998 for sexual harassment and sued an auto dealership in 2000, alleging the wheel fell off her car. That suit was dismissed after Ayala fired her lawyer, who said she had threatened him.

The early news reports that the finger was an aunt's have subsequently been discredited--turns out that was the rumor mill working. You have to wonder which one of her friends who no doubt knows her best passed that on to the media.

But, sorry--a woman who threatens HER OWN LAWYER, who has brought six or more lawsuits, seemingly as sport, has her own "burden of proof" issues, legalities aside. If it quacks like a duck...

I'm as much for justice as the next person, but the damage done to Wendy's as a result of this accusation is enormous, far reaching, and approaches the TYLENOL tampering case many years ago. If it were Fred's Bait Shop, where Fred makes 20K a year, who was accused unfairly and suffered great loss, everyone would leap to the aid of the little guy. I've never heard tell of Wendy's treating their employees like shit, and their menu appears at least slightly healthier with more variety than the average burger joint...not that I know, I don't go to those places much. In any event, even if they served cholesterol on a platter, if they've done nothing wrong, and this woman has screwed them over, they'll never be able to extract anything approaching retribution. The best hope they have is to spin it into a commercial for fish or chicken fingers...

[dbt]

2. Fish and finger pies in Penny Lane fall under scrutiny.

Badfinger cult suspected. Phlegm at Eleven.

[Algorem]

4. These cops are polished,they'll nail her.

She deserves a knuckle sandwich.

[Richard Steele]

6. When I clicked the link, THIS advertisement was next to the story:

Stupid, or BRILLIANT???

[dbt]

7. Yes to both!

[Cleita]

8. This is a really old con trick for a free meal.

Remember the scene in Victor/Victoria where unemployed cabaret performer, Julie Andrews, who is starving dumps a bug in her soup at the Bistro where she is eating a meal she can't pay for? Having worked in the restaurant business on and off for many years, people try to get free meals all the time, not because they can't pay for them, just to get away with it.

Usually, a disgruntled manager will comp the meal, but the customer goes into a mental file for future reference. If it happens too often with the same person he won't be served again.

This woman has taken it up to a new level, that of the lawsuit. Instead of slipping on water and breaking her leg, she did something that is really stupid IMHO.

[KansDem]

10. I don't know what to think of this sentence...

All the employees at the San Jose store were found to have all their fingers

Do they REALLY think someone working at the restaurant would actually cut off their finger (accidentally, I suppose) but not report it? Why is this sentence included in this report?

I wonder if this sentence was put into the report as an attempt at humor by the AP...

[Swamp Rat]

13. It happens often at meat processing plants.

Workers get tired after 16 hour shifts and ocassionally lose the tips of their digits.

[katamaran]

12. If her aunt is dead and that's her finger....

...then "Einee Meanie Chili Beanie, the spirits are about to speak!"