Worker gave his finger to settle $50 debt

San Francisco Chronicle ^ | 5/18/5 | Alan Gathright, Meredith May

[SmithL]

Mother says laborer who provided digit unaware of alleged plot against Wendy's -

Las Vegas -- The Las Vegas man whose severed fingertip ended up in a cup of Wendy's chili gave his mangled digit to a co-worker to settle a $50 debt -- but had no idea it would be used in an alleged scheme to swindle the fast-food chain, the man's mother said Tuesday.

San Jose police have refused to name the man whose finger they believe ended up in the chili. But the man's mother, reached by The Chronicle on Tuesday, said the finger belonged to her 36-year-old son, Brian Paul Rossiter of Las Vegas.

"My son is the victim in this,'' Rossiter's mother, Brenda Shouey, said in a telephone interview from her Pennsylvania home. "I believe he got caught in something, and he didn't understand what was going on.''

Rossiter lost part of his finger when his gloved hand was caught in a mechanical truck lift in December at a Las Vegas paving firm where he worked with James Plascencia, the husband of Anna Ayala, the woman accused of planting the fingertip in her cup of Wendy's chili.

Ayala claims she bit into a 1 1/2-inch human fingertip on March 22 while eating chili at the fast-food restaurant in San Jose. She was arrested a month later on felony charges of attempted grand theft for allegedly trying to shake down Wendy's International Inc. for a financial settlement in a scheme police say caused the fast-food chain to lose more than $2.5 million in sales. Her husband was arrested this month on unrelated charges of failing to pay child support in a previous relationship.

[SmithL]

I wonder if he can still get a free frosty.

[RichInOC]

Gee, I wish I could give people the finger to settle my debts.

[drt1]

And here I thought selling body parts was limited to India and Sri Lanka!

[Andonius_99]

I wonder how he pays his mortgage...

[telebob]

Yup. Gypsies.

[pikachu]

The way it probably worked:

1. Guys hands over finger to settle bet from 'Hey I bet if your are not careful, you will lop off that finger'
2. Husband takes finger home, wife thinks finger is stupid and says so not knowing it was a voodoo finger
3. Finger leaps out of chili in revenge for comment

[B Knotts]

I understand that he may not have been in on the scam, but really...why exactly did he think they wanted his finger?

[BIGLOOK]

The pregnant question is; Do his credit card payments pass postal security scrutiny?

[Conservatrix]

Redefines giving someone the finger.

[SmithL]

Thanks for explaining that. I still hadn't fingered it out.
; )

[avg_freeper]

"My son is the victim in this,"

This story sure has a lot of victims.

[mtbopfuyn]

"But nothing really surprises me anymore."

Agreed.

[kallisti]

So you want to be a Yakuza?

[EX52D]

Nice to know this happened just a few blocks from where I work...ridiculous...

[TheOtherOne]

I understand that he may not have been in on the scam, but really...why exactly did he think they wanted his finger?

And more importantly, once it was national news and the buyer of the finger was all over...HE KNEW THEN IT WAS HIS FINGER. He had a duty to come forward.

[Still Thinking]

"My son is the victim in this,'' Rossiter's mother, Brenda Shouey, said in a telephone interview from her Pennsylvania home. "I believe he got caught in something, and he didn't understand what was going on.''

How is he a victim? He cut off his finger and he sold it. Maybe not the sharpest knife in the drawer, but I don't see how you could call him a victim, or for that matter, even involved in the fraud scheme. He probably wasn't told a thing about it.

[CIDKauf]

I wonder if he is selling his...uh, well...you know

[MarineBrat]

So this ladies son didn't have a hand in this after all... oh wait!

[conservativewasp]

Good thing he didn't owe him an arm and a leg.

[Physicist]

He had a duty to come forward.

He definitely should have given someone the tip-off.