This is good. I'm tired of people taking advantage of the legal system. I still will probably never be able to order a bowl of .99 cent chilli ever again though. http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20050422/ap_on_re_us/wendy_s_finger_14 Woman in Wendy's Finger Case Arrested 1 hour, 7 minutes ago U.S. National - AP By CHRISTINA ALMEIDA, Associated Press Writer LAS VEGAS - The woman who claimed she found a finger in her bowl of Wendy's chili last month has been arrested, the latest twist in a bizarre case about how the 1 1/2-inch finger tip ended up in a bowl of fast food. AP Photo AP Photo Slideshow: Diner Claims Finger Found In Chili New $100,000 Reward in Wendy's Chili Finger Case (AP Video) Anna Ayala was taken into custody late Thursday at her Las Vegas home, police said. Authorities would not provide details until a news conference Friday in San Jose, Calif. — the city where Ayala claimed she bit down on the finger in a mouthful of her steamy stew. Ayala's 18-year-old son, Guadalupe Reyes, said he had gone to the store around 9 p.m. when he got a phone call from a friend who was back at the Las Vegas home. "We rushed back and she was already gone," Reyes said. Reyes said he had no other details and was waiting to hear from his mother. Ohio-based Wendy's International Inc. did not immediately return a call Friday. Ayala's claim that she found the finger tip, complete with a well-manicured nail, on March 22 initially drew sympathy. But when police and health officials failed to find any missing digits among the workers involved in the restaurant's supply chain, suspicion fell on Ayala, and her story has become a late-night punch line. Ayala hired a lawyer and filed a claim against the Wendy's franchise owner, Fresno-based JEM Management. But after police searched her home in Las Vegas and continued to question her family, she dropped the lawsuit threat, saying the whole situation was just too stressful. "Lies, lies, lies, that's all I am hearing," Ayala said after police started questioning her. "They should look at Wendy's. What are they hiding? Why are we being victimized again and again?" As it turns out, Ayala has a litigious history. She has filed claims against several corporations, including a former employer and General Motors, though it is unclear from court records whether she received any money. She said she got $30,000 from El Pollo Loco after her 13-year-old daughter got sick at one of the chain's Las Vegas-area restaurants. But El Pollo Loco spokeswoman Julie Weeks said last week that the company reviewed Ayala's February 2004 claim and paid her nothing. Earlier Thursday, Wendy's International Inc. announced it had ended its internal investigation, saying it could find no credible link between the finger and the restaurant chain. Sales have dropped at franchises in Northern California, forcing layoffs and reduced hours, the company said. Wendy's also has hired private investigators, set up a hot line for tips and offered a $100,000 reward for anyone who provides information leading to the finger's original owner.
I'm not really seeing in that article why she was arrested? Pretty vague. I know faking it is probably illegal, but did the police have some evidence to go on?
She pretty much defamed Wendy's. That has got to be worth some prison time and a fine. She wasted a lot of peoples time and money no less.
Don't worry finger fans. There are always finger sandwiches. And don't forget those ladyfingers for dessert!
This is a classic case where a company might want to go after the individual to set a precedent even if they're judgment proof.
Well sure, I just meant that I didn't see the actual reason for the arrest. I don't think they would arrest her just because Wendy's says it has stopped it's own internal investigation. They must have something fairly solid on her.
Saw it on the news. I love how once the police began to turn their focus on the woman after Wendy's denied the finger to belonging to an employee, she suddenly didn't want to sue Wendy's. She just wanted to forget the incident because she had so much emotional pain. I'm glad she might be charged.
April 22, 2005, 10:24PM Finger-in-chili case a hoax, police say Associated Press SAN JOSE, Calif. — Police think they know how the finger ended up in Anna Ayala's bowl of Wendy's chili — because of a hoax. But they have yet to solve the other big part of the mystery: Whose finger was it? Ayala was arrested in the alleged hoax Thursday at her home outside Las Vegas — the latest twist in a case that has become a late-night punch line, taken a bite out of Wendy's sales and forced the fast-food chain to check its employees for missing fingers. She was accused of attempted grand larceny, a charge authorities said relates to the financial losses Wendy's has suffered since Ayala made the claim. The loss to Wendy's restaurants in the Bay area is $2.5 million, according to the felony complaint against her. Ayala claimed she bit down on the well-manicured, 1 1/2 -inch finger in a mouthful of her steamy chili on March 22 in San Jose. She had hired a lawyer and filed a claim against the Wendy's franchise owner, but dropped the lawsuit threat soon after suspicion fell on her. Ayala — who is being held in a Las Vegas jail and has a history of bringing claims against big corporations — has denied placing the finger in the chili. When asked whether police considered Ayala's claim a hoax, David Keneller, captain of the San Jose police department's investigations bureau, said yes. "Our evidence suggests the truest victims in this case are indeed the Wendy's owner, operators and employees here in San Jose," Police Chief Rob Davis said Friday at a news conference. Police refused to say where the finger originated and exactly how the hoax was carried out. But according to a person knowledgeable about the case who spoke on condition of anonymity, the charge stemmed from San Jose police interviews with people who said Ayala described putting a finger in the chili. The source said the interviews were with at least two people who did not know each other and independently told similar stories. The criminal complaint against Ayala also sheds more light on the incident at the restaurant in San Jose, where she was visiting relatives. None of Ayala's family members saw the finger fragment in her mouth, noticing it only after Ayala pointed to the object in the bottom of her chili cup, according to the document. She told a brother-in-law that she had spit it out. Her father-in-law and mother-in-law told police they saw Ayala throw up, but there was no such evidence at the scene, the complaint says. The Santa Clara County coroner's office also concluded that the finger "was not consistent with an object that had been cooked in chili at 170 degrees for three hours." During the investigation, police and health officials failed to find any missing fingers among the workers in the restaurant's supply chain. Wendy's hired private investigators, set up a hot line for tips and offered a $100,000 reward for information leading to the finger's original owner. Employees who were working that day at the restaurant also passed lie-detector tests administered by police, the complaint says. The furor caused sales at Wendy's to drop, forcing layoffs and reduced hours in Northern California. Joseph Desmond, owner of the local Wendy's franchise, called the ordeal a nightmare. "It's been 31 days, and believe me it's been really tough," he said. "My thanks also go out to all the little people who were hurt in our stores. They lost a lot of wages because we had to cut back because our business has been down so badly." Wendy's hopes Ayala's arrest persuades customers to return to its Northern California franchises. The company is offering a free "Junior Frosty" at its Bay Area restaurants. Many loyal customers continue to support the Wendy's where Ayala made her claim. Shortly after Friday's police news conference, Tom McCready headed into the restaurant and ordered two bowls of chili to go and a baked potato with chili on it. "If they've got 10 fingers, it's OK with me," the San Jose retiree said about the Wendy's employees at the counter. He said he and his wife have supported the restaurant since Ayala's claim, heading there more often and ordering the chili. His opinion of Ayala's claim: "It's a crock." Ayala has filed claims against several corporations. She said she got $30,000 from a Mexican food chain after her 13-year-old daughter got sick at one of the restaurant, but the chain denied it paid her anything. The complaint says investigators have found 13 civil actions involving Ayala or her children. At times, it says Ayala has settled cases for cash payouts before the lawsuits have gone to court. Ayala also was arrested on a warrant alleging grand larceny — a charge not related to the finger. The police chief said the charge stemmed from a 2002 incident in which Ayala allegedly tried to sell a mobile home in San Jose that she did not own. The victim lost $11,000. Ayala's son denied the allegation. "She didn't steal any money in connection with the trailer," Guadalupe Reyes Jr. said in brief comments to reporters while leaving the family's suburban Las Vegas house. http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/front/3147786
I wish I knew what evidence they have against her otherwise. . . all they have is 1. her past 2. Wendy's word Rocket River Tie goes to the Big Company
According to the story, they also have this: "But according to a person knowledgeable about the case who spoke on condition of anonymity, the charge stemmed from San Jose police interviews with people who said Ayala described putting a finger in the chili. The source said the interviews were with at least two people who did not know each other and independently told similar stories."
