Ex-Coke Secretary Sentenced to 8 Years

AP via SFGate ^ | 5/23/7 | HARRY R. WEBER

[utahagen]

You’re right, but all that means is that murderers should get longer sentences. This woman richly deserves a ten year jail sentence. (She’ll never have to serve the whole ten years, anyway; she’ll get time off for good behavior.)

[Mercat]

Or did the arsen stuff like the guy from ELF. But I’m guessing that she or her lawyers really made the judge cranky in the discovery process. It wasn’t the crime it was the coverup.

[Fletcher J]

Close, but not exactly. However, you can buy what’s essentially McDonald’s secret sauce right off the grocery store shelves (at least here in the Southeast). Look for JFG brand “Sandwich Spread”.

I’ve made Big Macs at home a couple of times, just for the fun of it. People would be amazed at how good they are when made with ample amounts of quality ground beef. I make the thinnest patties I can form by hand. Two patties will be more meat than on a couple of real Big Macs.

For authenticity, use dehydrated onions that you’ve soaked in water. :)

Fletcher J

[Doomonyou]

I gotta stick with these:

[ReignOfError]

I'm a Coke drinker, but it's worth mentioning that Pepsi was honest & turned this matter over to Coke (and the authorities) as soon as the offer was made.

Honest, or wary; when a secretary shows up with unsolicited trade secrets, you gotta be thinking sting.

[Wally_Kalbacken]

But yo honah, I cain’t even spel inteelecktyou’all poppitee!

[ReignOfError]

Or that Pepsi already has the recipie...

The "secret formula," these days, is mostly marketing hype. Food chemists have come pretty darn close to duplicating it. The problem i that no one can match Coke's economies of scale, so the best you could claim is "just like Coke and only a little more expensive."

Pepsi sells more by differentiating itself in the market than it would by being a Coke taste-alike. The 'trade secrets" were probably more like marketing plans and new product introductions, the kind of thing Pepsi could counter better if it knew about them in advance.

[El Cid]

...I'm normally one to say: 'if you break the law, pay the consequences'... But 8 years for trying to sell the secret recipe for carbonated 'crap'?
Are people that addicted to Coke? I never noticed any big difference between Coke and the discount Colas. As a matter of fact I prefer Colas that use cane sugar as its sweetener - not HFCS.

She deserves some punishment, but 8 years trying to peddle something worthless (other than it being an old Coca-Cola family heirloom) just seems a bit much.

[ReignOfError]

I was told that the way Pepsi originally came about was that the recipe was stolen from Coke.

Nope. It was just a good old-fashioned copy-cat job. Pepsi rose to prominence when the Depression hit, and folks had to stretch their money -- Pepsi offered 12-oz. bottles for the name nickel Coke charged for 6 oz. Coke's big stroke of genius was its promise that a GI in World War II, anywhere in the world, would be able to get a Coke for a nickel, same price as in the US. The military thought that was great for morale, and helped in the effort. At war's end, Coca-Cola had bottling facilities, distribution channels and suppliers on every continent.

[Loyalist]

The myths about Coke’s “secret formula” are probably more valuable than the formula itself for the marketing cachet they add.

[ReignOfError]

As a matter of fact I prefer Colas that use cane sugar as its sweetener - not HFCS.

Stock up during Passover. Look for the circle-U. Coke switches to cane or beet sugar because HFCS isn't kosher for passover. In some areas of the world, they use cane sugar all the time -- if it's cheaper on the local market.

She deserves some punishment, but 8 years trying to peddle something worthless (other than it being an old Coca-Cola family heirloom) just seems a bit much.

Why is everyone jumping to the conclusion that the "secret formula" is the only trade secret Coca-Cola has? Down in the article, it cites unspecified "confidential documents" and samples of a yet-to-be-released new drink.

First off, there are maybe half a dozen people in the company who know the formula. The ingredients are made up of eight (IIRC) batches by eight different contractors, so no one has the whole picture. The ingredients, except water, CO2 and sweeteners, are shipped to bottlers ready-mixed.

Second, let's face it: Coke and Pepsi are marketing companies first and foremost. If Pepsi knew Coke's future ad plans, their planned product introductions, in advance, they could be prepared to respond -- and that's more valuable than a formula they probably sussed out 99% of long ago.

[El Cid]

Thanks for the Passover tip — I’ll keep my eyes open.

[Badeye]

‘Yeah, spectroscopy isn’t exactly a hard thing to get done. Any two bit chemistry lab could do it.’

Yep...which of course demonstrates the lunacy of the secretary going to jail.

[ReignOfError]

The “secret formula” has nothing to do with this case.

[Badeye]

Okay. Have a coke and a smile.....

[DaveTesla]

Congratulations!

Your the only person in 50+ posts to actually read the article so far.

“The government said Williams stole confidential documents and samples of products that hadn’t been launched by Coca-Cola and gave them to Dimson and a third defendant, Edmund Duhaney, as part of a conspiracy to sell the items to Pepsi. Duhaney, like Dimson, pleaded guilty to conspiracy. Before the Coke case, Duhaney and Dimson had been incarcerated at the same federal prison in Alabama at the same time.”

[DaveTesla]

“The government said Williams stole confidential documents and samples of products that hadn’t been launched by Coca-Cola and gave them to Dimson and a third defendant, Edmund Duhaney, as part of a conspiracy to sell the items to Pepsi. Duhaney, like Dimson, pleaded guilty to conspiracy. Before the Coke case, Duhaney and Dimson had been incarcerated at the same federal prison in Alabama at the same time.”

[Badeye]

Thanks.