Wendy's Gives the Finger to Democrats

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) 5.13.05, 12:40p -- Police on Friday said the finger a woman claimed she found in a bowl of Wendy's chili came from an acquaintance of her husband who lost it in an industrial accident in December. "The jig is up," Police Chief Rob Davis said during a news conference. "The puzzle pieces are beginning to fall into place, and the truth is being exposed." Davis said the tip was called in to a hotline established by the Ohio-based fast food chain, and police found the man -- very much alive -- in Nevada this week. He said scientific tests confirmed the finger was his. "This subject was in fact the source of the fingertip allegedly found in the chili," Davis said. He said the man, who was not identified, was an acquaintance of Jaime Plascencia, the husband of the Las Vegas woman who made the claim, Anna Ayala. He also said detectives had determined the man had given the finger fragment to Plascencia. Ayala told police she discovered the finger March 22 in a bowl of chili at a Wendy's franchise in San Jose. Police arrested Ayala and accused of her making up the story to get money from Wendy's. Wendy's has offered a $100,000 reward and has said it has lost millions in sales since Ayala made the claim. Dozens of employees at the company's Northern California franchises also have been laid off. "There are victims in this case that have suffered greatly," Davis said.

This is a relief to Wendy's I'm sure, but not a relief to the millions who eat Wendy's food before realizing they've purchased crappy food from a corporation that ranks near the bottom of Buy Blue's list of companies in political contributions: 94% to Republicans, 6% to Democrats.