Human Finger found in Wendy's Chili (1 Viewer)

[mattCR]

Because this was not the first time they had been in front of a court hurt them. But more then that, the fact that they perpetuated a fraud that caused significant fiscal damage to a company played into it as well.

Yes, they were sentenced to 9 years with parole at 3. So, they will probably do 3 (or even less).

 

[MickeS]

Significant fiscal damage? $2.5M isn't chickenshit, I'll grant you that (that's what Wendy's claim they have lost in sales due to this... personally, I seriously doubt that, but what do I know... that's over 400,000 $6 meals that they think they lost in sales over this... yeah right...), but it's not exactly a mom & pop operation either. If they're gonna take that stuff into account when awarding someone compensation from a corporation, they should take it into account when sentencing the other way too, IMO.

But yeah, you're probably right. They caused damage to a corporation, so obviously they should be punished hard...

 

[mattCR]

It's not just that. Look at the laundry list involved:

Filing a bogus police report (lower class felony)
Defilement of a dead body (misdemeanor)
Threatening and demanding payment (Extortion)
Filing a fraudulent lawsuit (misdemeanor)

So, take Wendy's out of the equation.

Someone comes to your private house, and they leave. They later sue you for damages equal to the value of your house (remember, she filed a lawsuit equal to the estimated value of franchise). She goes on TV and explains to everyone how she was poisoned at your house.

It later turns out it was all a fraud.

During the process, that person has committed multiple crimes.

I'm not saying corporations deserve special justice; they should be exposed to the same level of justice as any individual. Where she messed up was using a public forum as a means of extortion.

A few years ago, this same thing happened to a home owner where a contractor "fell" of his roof and then claimed all sorts of garbage and sued for damages; it later turned out, thanks to video tape by a neighbor, that the guy jumped off the roof and faked his accident. The guy received 5 years in prison for filing false reports and demanding payment, etc.

Wendy's should get the same level of justice as anyone else. And I think they got just that.

 

[Chu Gai]

Maybe they'll work in the prison kitchen.

 

[MarkHastings]

If a man kills someones child he gets life in prison, but does that mean the prison term should be shortened if the family had MANY children? I mean, it's not like it's their only son, they have a dozen others, so the sentencing should be lesser, right?

Or, if you steal $100,000 from your neighbor, you get a NASTY sentencing. Would the sentence be less if you stole $100,000 from Bill Gates?

Seriosuly, I know what you're saying, but just because 2 million in sales loss is not that big of a deal for Wendy's, doesn't mean the sentencing should be any different.

It shouldn't be about percentages (i.e comparing the loss to other factors), it should be about the loss period!

Losing 2 million (or whatever) is a big deal.

 

[BrettB]

I actually thought it was a little harsh at first but when you look at the whole situation it's probably about right and I'm not gonna lose any sleep.

From what I saw of the lady she seemed sincerely repentant. Hopefully that's real and not just another scam.

 

[RobertR]

In other words, this rat bitch is a professional scammer, bent on defrauding as much as she can get away with. Locking her up keeps her from doing the same to others. And the man's sentence was that long partly due to his "deadbeat dad" status.

These two are losers who deserve no sympathy.

 

[MickeS]

Good point, Mark. But then again... you're essentially saying that the value of the loss to the victim should not be a factor in sentencing.

Couldn't you argue then that you should be receiving the same sentence for stealing $1 from someone, as if you were stealing $100,000?

Or are you arguing that it should be taken into consideration, but only if it's a lot of money for the thief, compared to... what exactly?

I'm not leaing either way really, just trying to find convincing arguments one way or the other.

Of course, this is only tangentially related to this case, since there was no direct loss for Wendy's incurred by this (they did TRY and get money from them, but failed), only estimated.

 

[RobertR]

The kids aren't exactly well off with such lousy excuses for "parents" as these. They're not in a good situation either way, and it could be argued they're better off without them.

 

[MarkHastings]

I know it's a tough call and there are plenty of instances that negate my thinking, but I always think that stealing is stealing...

Should you get a harsher sentence from stealing $1 from a homeless man over stealing $1 from a billionare? I mean, the crime is the same.

But again, at the same time, the homeless man is going to suffer more from that loss, so the effects of the crime are more severe.

I think that's the big picture. Sure, the 2 Million loss isn't as severe to Wendy's as it would be a small business, but that doesn't mean a 9 year prison sentence isn't 'worthy'.

I think too many people look at this "Not a severe loss" and figure the crime wasn't so great.

 

[WillG]

Let's not forget that the fallout over this scam cost people their jobs as well. 2.5 mil may not seem like a lot for the Wendy's Corporation. But we have to remember that this scam may have profoundly affected many people's lives.

 

[Hunter P]

I think judges know that people rarely serve the full sentence and take parole into account when determining punishment. Just a guess though.

 

[mattCR]

Yep, they were talking about this yesterday, and while I thought they became Parole eligible at 3 years, it's 24 months. So, the sentence is mostly just show to "show" how serious the crime was should they ever be sentenced again; they will most likely get out in 2 years.

 

[MikeH1]

I think its great they were given some long sentances.

Too bad the same can't be said for some murderers. Or them corporate snakes that rip off people and ruin futures.

 

[Greg Morse]

I'm sure quite a bit of the loss was absorbed by the single franchise where the finger was "found", rather than the 6000 Wendy's franchises equally. Sure, Wendy's can absorb the loss, but look at it from the perspective of the franchise owner, who for all intents and purposes is a small business owner. Rather than Wendy's what if it was Bob's Burger Shack that this happened to. Just because a large corporation sits at the top of the ladder, doesn't mean that the franchisee gets hurt any less.

 

[MarkHastings]

That's very true.

I'm sure the manager of that store (who depends on that business) didn't fair as well as the Wendy's corporation did as a whole.

 

[Chris]

Only 1/2 joking here:

With the state of prison overcrowding, and the nature of the crime, I think we should give the prisoners "offers" of alternative punishments they can serve out.

As in: Sure, you can go to prison, but as an alternative, if you would like to agree to appear in a commercial for Wendy's apologizing and then put a big sign in your yard for two years that read "I am the Idiot who tried to screw Wendy's"

I'd call that fair. I'd be willing to trade them their jail sentence for public humiliation. I think more crimes could be handled with public humiliation.

 

[MarkHastings]

Which would then give them fame and stardom. No thanks! Lock 'em away out of the public eye.

 

[PeterTHX]

Besides, there's probably still people out there who still think the "finger in the chili" story is TRUE.

Lock 'em up.

 

[MickeS]

Do you really think these people give a shit about being humiliated more than they already are? They'd probably enjoy the attention.

I still think it was too hars, but they should definitely have been sent to prison.

There are other solutions to prisons being overcrowded, but generally, it seems like Americans like to lock up their fellow citizens. After all, the US has the highest incarceration rate in the world, and being number one must be good! No need to fix anything...