Finger in Wendy's chili may be linked to leopard attack

[sabra]

<<SNIP>>
http://www.tampabays10.com/news/news.aspx?storyid=13270

Finger in Wendy's chili may be linked to leopard attack

SAN JOSE, Calif. — Police in California say they're checking out a possible lead in the case involving an allegedly contaminated bowl of Wendy's chili.

San Jose police are investigating the case of a woman who lost part of her finger in a leopard attack. The woman, who has several exotic animals, reportedly got the finger back in a bag of ice, after doctors couldn’t re-attach it. She lives in a town about 45 miles north of Las Vegas.

A month after that attack, a Las Vegas woman reported biting into a human finger while eating a bowl of Wendy’s chili. Today, the woman’s lawyer confirmed that she’s decided not to sue.

That word comes a day after an animal sanctuary employee called a Wendy’s hotline to suggest the finger might be linked to the February leopard attack.

Wendy’s has maintained the finger allegedly found in the chili had not been cooked, and that it didn’t enter the supply chain as part of its ingredients.

<</SNIP>>

[NervousRex]

1. Yuck!

There is nothing worse than UNCOOKED finger in my chili. You are supposed to saute everything before it goes in the pot...c'mon Wendy's!!!

[HereSince1628]

2. hmmm, finger points to fraud?

[MADem]

14. You should write the headlines! nt

[MindPilot]

3. Wendy's is offering 50 grand for info about the finger

heard on local newz this morning, so no link

[DS1]

11. It was dropped in the chili after purchase in an attempt to extort money

Guaranteed.

[just a girl]

4. If the finger wasn't cooked, was the chili?

How did the finger end up in the chili anyway?

[indepat]

5. Maybe got in there someway after the chili was cooked? Any DNA

available on that finger?

[sabra]

6. Wondering same thing?

Ok so they linked it to the leopard accident, but how did it get to Wendys?

[benburch]

7. The clear implication is fraud.

The woman may have put the finger in her own chili to create a reason to sue.

[medeak]

8. def...woman lives in Las Vegas....finger from Las Vegas

but chili was in CA.

edited to say I heard she has record of suing fast food chains

[benburch]

9. She drove to a place where she wasn't known???

Perhaps she thought a CA lawsuit would be worth more money?

[feminazi]

10. she was visiting san jose when she found the finger

she used to live in CA.

fyi, we know a man who manages a different wendy's. he told us that the woman ate the whole bowl of chili, found the finger and then threw up. however, she didn't barf chili. she barfed clear liquid.

originally i was skeptical of what he said, but the more i hear the more it seems that she planted it.

[Brotherjohn]

21. I think we've solved it. She knew the woman who lost the finger, and...

... proposed the plan to her. She had a history of pulling such scams, and the woman losing the finger, well, she wanted to get SOMETHING for her loss (couldn't sue herself for being stupid enough to raise big cats).

The Wendy's scammer faked the vomit by pouring something out of a bottle (hidden in her clothing, behind her head, whatever). It wouldn't take much to fool people with a FINGER just popping up in the Chili... it must've been a scene of near panic.

Also, I remember them saying the finger had been "torn" off... like, say, by a leopard?

[Democrats_win]

16. Quick, someone call CSI. They'll digitize the print, send it to the FBI

and they'll tell homeland security, who'll call Negroponte who'll put the CIA on the case. Then everyone's finger will be in the chili.

[MindPilot]

13. and now she's dropping the suit

think about it, if you *really* found a body part in your food--human or otherwise--would you drop the case?

I sure as hell wouldn't--I'd be looking forward to a comfortable retirement.

[MADem]

15. But...She can still be charged with filing a false report

lying to cops, and the usual sorts of charges when someone BS's public officials in the course of their duties. Wendy's could also go after her for damages, as well.

If she did try to game them, I hope they send her up the river for a good long time. It's fraud and frivolity like this that makes it harder for people with a real beef (where's the beef?) to get any justice.

[flamingyouth]

20. They could definitely sue her for loss of business or something

Just to make her life a living hell. This story is creepy beyond belief... and I agree, if she's guilty, I'd like to see someone make an example out of her. :grr:

[SoCalDem]

24. They SHOULD sue.. They can Never Ever add "finger foods" to the menu now

Peole will always associte finger-chili with Wendy's even if it was not their fault:(

[warrens]

22. There's no way a finger just suddenly appeared

Without someone, um, NOTICING THEY WERE MISSING ONE.

At least this isn't quite as bad as some of the speculation by police who were asking around at funeral homes...gag.

[UCLA Dem]

12. Ewwwww.

[maxsolomon]

17. obviously, the leopard took it from vegas to CA

then hacked it up into the woman's chili when she had her back turned for a split second.

and given the chance, he'd do it again.

rotten terrorist leopards should be wiped out like those damn whales & fur seals overpopulating the oceans!

[nonconformist]

18. EWWWW!

That had to be horrifying. Lucky for Wendy's the woman has elected not to sue!

[all.of.me]

19. is wendy's chili made with leopard meat?!?! lol

[GoddessOfGuinness]

23. What the hell ELSE is in Wendy's chili?

Leopard claws?

[BringEmOn]

25. Thank God it wasn't Lorraine Bobbitt

[Rose Siding]

26. Time to check out what really made her daughter sick in a previous suit

snip>
Speaking at the front door of her home in suburban Las Vegas on Friday, Ayala declined to provide details of her litigious past. She acknowledged, however, that her family received a settlement several years ago after her daughter, Genesis, now 13, was sickened at an El Pollo Loco restaurant in Las Vegas. "That was something very different," Ayala said.

El Pollo Loco officials had no immediate comment Friday.

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-finger9apr09,1,4151782.story?coll=la-headlines-california

She goes to court a lot but that's the one that disturbed me, once the reports about this new incident raised the possibility of a hoax/fraud. "Several" years ago....13 now....10? 9?

[Catchawave]

27. I'm glad they're still pursuing this so I can .....

go back to worrying about e.coli and salmonella in my fast food !

Seriously, I never ruled out it could have come from the slaughterhouse, since they hire illegal immigrants and no one would dare report having a digit chopped off because of deportation. Though that still would explain how the digit remained intact after going through the burger grinder.

This lady is a whackjob, and I hope they throw the book at her...and her a'hole lawyer.

Edit, a'hole's not in spell check :)

[progressivebydesign]

28. The woman has a history of these suits...

.. I hate when people do disgusting things like that! It's unfair to those of us that have to read about it.. and to the companies and employees whose biz suffers because of it. I hope there's a law against that.. or that WEndy's can sue her if they prove she did this in an attempt to get $$$

[Voltaire99]

29. So it wasn't...er, Wendy's finger, after all?

Is it OK to be disappointed? ;-)

[Moderator]

30. kick to combine

[NVMojo]

31. WENDY'S CHILI: Finger saga shifts to Pahrump-Police check woman who lost

Police check woman who lost digit to leopard's bite

April 14, 2005

A Pahrump woman's missing fingertip has poked its way into the ongoing saga of a finger that a woman said she found in a bowl of chili.

Police in San Jose, Calif., confirmed Wednesday that they were investigating whether the finger in the chili belonged to Sandy Allman, who recently lost her digit to a hostile leopard.

"She's just one of many tips we've been getting," said officer Gina Tepoorten, a San Jose police spokeswoman.

more...

http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2005/Apr-14-Thu-2005/news/26287826.html

[LisaM]

32. "Tips" they've been getting?

Groan.

[dhinojosa]

33. So the chili is made of leopard meat?

nummy!!

[neuvocat]

34. ...what...?...

[Jesus Saves]

35. Most fast food chili

is made of animals discarded from circuses and zoos. Little known fact. I'll never eat that stuff.

[montana_hazeleyes]

36. LOL

"Since Wendy's offered a $50,000 reward in the case, San Jose police have been flooded with tips. One of those tips came from Allman, who contacted authorities late last week and has cooperated with the investigation, Tepoorten said."

[MADem]

37. Reward upped to a hundred grand (the leopard is out of the running)

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N152872.htm

Wendy's International Inc. <WEN.N> on Friday doubled to $100,000 the reward it is offering for information on the origin of a human finger found last month in a bowl of chili at one of its restaurants.

In a statement, Wendy's President and Chief Operating Officer Tom Mueller said the company's franchisees and employees have "done nothing wrong, yet they are paying a severe price with sales down significantly" in the San Jose, California, area where the incident occurred.

Some of the franchisees have laid off workers or reduced workers' hours, the company said.

"Our brand reputation has been affected nationally," Mueller added. "We are determined to find out what really happened in this incident."