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Keyword: annaayala

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  • Wendy's chili 'Finger Lady' back in San Jose, but banned from restaurant

    03/11/2010 1:25:17 PM PST · by SmithL · 23 replies · 1,069+ views
    San Jose Mercury News ^ | 3/11/10 | Bruce Newman
    She cooked it. Say what you will about the half-baked scam perpetrated by Anna Ayala at a San Jose Wendy's five years ago, the finger she supposedly discovered in her chili was medium well-done. And no one would know that better than Ayala: She was the finger-food chef that day. "I cooked it," Ayala said, making a clean breast of her crime for the first time in a televised interview with Joe Vazquez of CBS-5. Ayala's attempt to shake down the fast-food chain attracted worldwide attention, forcing the San Jose Police Department to assign six investigators to the case and...
  • Nevada couple sentenced in chili finger case

    01/18/2006 11:21:31 AM PST · by SmithL · 41 replies · 1,486+ views
    AP ^ | 1/18/6 | Kim Curtis
    San Jose -- A Nevada couple who cooked up a scheme to plant a severed finger in a bowl of Wendy's chili to extort money from the fast food chain were sentenced Wednesday to lengthy prison terms. Anna Ayala, 40, who said she bit into the digit, was sentenced to nine years in state prison. Her husband, Jaime Plascencia, 44, who supplied the finger, was ordered locked up for more than a dozen years. The pair pleaded guilty Sept. 9 in Santa Clara County Superior Court to two felony charges arising from the chili-finger scam: conspiracy to file a false...
  • CA: Prosecutors ask for maximum sentences for (Wendy's) chili finger couple (Sentencing Wednesday)

    01/17/2006 4:04:25 PM PST · by NormsRevenge · 32 replies · 877+ views
    ap on Bakersfield Californian ^ | 1/17/06 | Kim Curtis - ap
    SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Prosecutors are asking a judge to impose maximum prison sentences for the couple who masterminded the plot to plant a human fingertip in a bowl of Wendy's chili, calling the pair "grifters" who demonstrated "a total selfishness and perceived entitlement to other people's money." Jaime Plascencia, 44, and Anna Ayala, 40, pleaded guilty on Sept. 9 to two felony charges arising from the chili-finger scam: conspiracy to file a false insurance claim and attempted grand theft with damages exceeding $2.5 million. At most, Ayala faces nine years, eight months in prison for her part in the...
  • Chili Finger Sentencing Delayed Until January

    12/14/2005 6:43:16 PM PST · by nickcarraway · 6 replies · 352+ views
    NBC11 ^ | December 14, 2005
    SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Sentencing for the couple implicated in the Wendy's chili finger scheme has been delayed until next month. Anna Ayala and her husband, Jaime Placencia, were scheduled to be sentenced Wednesday for their role in planting a fingertip in a bowl of chili at Wendy's restaurant in March. Sentencing for the couple was delayed because a probation report was not ready yet. Ayala had claimed that she bit into the finger while eating chili at a Wendy's restaurant in San Jose earlier this year. Ayala and Placencia pleaded guilty in September to conspiring to file a false...
  • No Deal Friday For 'Chili Finger' Couple

    08/27/2005 12:37:37 PM PDT · by freespirited · 16 replies · 737+ views
    ABC7News ^ | 8/27/05
    Aug. 26 (BCN) - The Las Vegas couple accused of planting a piece of human finger in a bowl of Wendy's chili did not get a plea deal today despite their attorneys spending more than an hour discussing the case with a judge. The attorneys for Anna Ayala, 39, and her husband Jaime Placencia, 43, have spent the past two days seeking a plea deal for the couple from Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Edward Davila. This morning Davila halted the talks and asked for more information about the facts of the case, according to Deputy District Attorney David...
  • Chili finger suspect getting hate mail

    05/27/2005 3:35:02 PM PDT · by SmithL · 33 replies · 1,117+ views
    San Francisco Chronicle ^ | 5/27/5 | Alan Gathright
    Anna Ayala's attorney said Thursday that the Las Vegas woman has been rattled by hate mail since her April arrest for allegedly planting a fingertip in a bowl of chili at a San Jose Wendy's. The attorney, Rick Ehler, said the tone of the six pieces of mail sent to her home ranged from "white supremacist" rants to a writer saying: "I hope you get the death penalty." "She's having a little bit of a hard time understanding the depth of the hatred," . . .
  • Husband implicated in chili finger case charged with two felonies

    05/24/2005 6:56:52 PM PDT · by SmithL · 7 replies · 507+ views
    AP ^ | 5/24/5 | JUSTIN M. NORTON
    San Francisco -- The husband of a woman accused of planting a human finger in a bowl of Wendy's chili now faces two felony charges in the alleged scheme, Santa Clara county prosecutors said Tuesday. Jaime Placencia, 43, who was arrested May 4 in Las Vegas on unrelated charges, faces similar felony charges as his wife, Anna Ayala. Placencia was charged with conspiracy to file a false charge and attempted grand theft with excessive damages, meaning he tried to extract a large amount of money from the fast food chain, prosecutors said. Deputy District Attorney David Boyd declined to elaborate...
  • Ex-owner of finger lashes out: 'It's been hell'

    05/20/2005 7:28:27 AM PDT · by SmithL · 24 replies · 1,051+ views
    San Francisco Chronicle ^ | 5/20/5 | Meredith May, Maria Alicia Gaura
    Friends at bar say he grew angry that his mother spoke to media about case - Las Vegas -- After days of hiding, the man whose infamous fingertip ended up in the middle of the Wendy's chili scandal said Thursday night that his life had been thrown into a tailspin by the case. "It's been hell -- you don't even know!" Brian Rossiter, 36, bellowed from behind the door to his apartment at Thrift Suites, where residents pay by the week. He slammed his fists on the door and yelled obscenities as two reporters stood outside. Rossiter said he had...
  • Finger allegedly bought to try scam - Husband paid $50 to 'create a lawsuit,' court records say

    05/19/2005 1:18:52 PM PDT · by SmithL · 21 replies · 777+ views
    San Francisco Chronicle ^ | 5/19/5 | Alan Gathright, Meredith May
    Las Vegas -- The husband of Anna Ayala paid a co-worker for his severed fingertip to "create a lawsuit" by planting the digit in food at an unidentified restaurant, San Jose police allege in court records filed Wednesday. The allegation of a widening conspiracy in the chili-finger case came as The Chronicle identified the injured co-worker as Brian Paul Rossiter and reported the man's mother saying that he gave the finger to Ayala's husband, James Plascencia, to settle a $50 debt. The co-worker's right ring finger was sheered off after his gloved hand was caught in a mechanical truck hoist...
  • Charge Added Against Woman in Wendy's Case

    05/18/2005 6:29:09 PM PDT · by SmithL · 14 replies · 598+ views
    AP ^ | 5/18/5 | RACHEL KONRAD
    San Jose -- A woman accused of lying about finding a human finger in a bowl of Wendy's chili was charged Wednesday with conspiracy to commit fraud, adding to the theft counts she already faces. Meanwhile, a woman provided more details about how the finger may have been lost. She said her son lost the finger in a work accident and gave it to the suspect's husband to settle a $50 debt. "My son is the victim in this," Brenda Shouey told the San Francisco Chronicle. "I believe he got caught in something, and he didn't understand what was going...
  • Worker gave his finger to settle $50 debt

    05/18/2005 9:16:54 AM PDT · by SmithL · 32 replies · 819+ views
    San Francisco Chronicle ^ | 5/18/5 | Alan Gathright, Meredith May
    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...
  • Mother: Wendy's finger used to settle debt

    05/18/2005 10:03:22 AM PDT · by Dubya · 29 replies · 1,182+ views
    Associated Press ^ | May. 18, 2005 | Associated Press
    SAN JOSE, Calif. - A man who lost part of his finger in a workplace accident was the source of the fingertip used in an alleged scam against Wendy's restaurants, and gave it away to settle a debt, his mother said. "My son is the victim in this," Brenda Shouey said in an interview published in Wednesday's San Francisco Chronicle. "I believe he got caught in something, and he didn't understand what was going on." Anna Ayala, 39, was arrested April 21 at her Las Vegas home on suspicion of attempted grand theft for allegedly costing Wendy's millions of dollars...
  • Worker gave his finger to settle $50 debt (wendy's chili)

    05/18/2005 11:04:04 AM PDT · by Ramonan · 19 replies · 1,061+ views
    S F Chronicle ^ | May 18, 2005 | Alan Gathright, Meredith May, Chronicle Staff Writers
    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...
  • Worker Says Finger in Wendy's Chili Was Severed on the Job in Truck Tailgate

    05/15/2005 5:21:06 AM PDT · by billorites · 70 replies · 1,747+ views
    Associated Press ^ | May 15, 2005
    SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - The finger that a woman claimed she found in a bowl of Wendy's chili was severed in the tailgate of a truck during a work accident, an employee of an asphalt company said. Pat Hogue, an estimator with a Las Vegas asphalt maintenance company, told the San Francisco Chronicle for a story in Sunday's editions that a man he was working with lost the tip of his finger on a job five months ago. Both men were working with James Plascencia, the husband of Anna Ayala - the Las Vegas woman who claimed she found the...
  • Finger Traced to Woman Who Blamed Wendy's

    05/13/2005 9:39:53 PM PDT · by winner3000 · 13 replies · 649+ views
    Yahoo News ^ | 5/13/2005 | GREG SANDOVAL/AP
    SAN JOSE, Calif. - The mysterious finger that a woman claimed to have found in a bowl of Wendy's chili came from an associate of her husband who lost the finger in an industrial accident, police said Friday. ADVERTISEMENT "The jig is up. The puzzle pieces are beginning to fall into place, and the truth is being exposed," Police Chief Rob Davis said. The discovery of the finger's owner marks a significant break in a case that has confounded authorities for nearly two months, ever since Anna Ayala claimed she bit down on the well-manicured, 1 1/2-inch finger in a...
  • Finger Traced to Woman Who Blamed Wendy's

    05/13/2005 10:07:22 PM PDT · by glasseye · 30 replies · 1,021+ views
    yahoo news ^ | 05-13-05 | GREG SANDOVAL
    SAN JOSE, Calif. - The mysterious finger that a woman claimed to have found in a bowl of Wendy's chili came from an associate of her husband who lost the finger in an industrial accident, police said Friday. "The jig is up. The puzzle pieces are beginning to fall into place, and the truth is being exposed," Police Chief Rob Davis said. The discovery of the finger's owner marks a significant break in a case that has confounded authorities for nearly two months, ever since Anna Ayala claimed she bit down on the well-manicured, 1 1/2-inch finger in a mouthful...
  • SAN JOSE: Chili finger woman has rooting section at arraignment

    05/10/2005 10:46:20 AM PDT · by SmithL · 23 replies · 864+ views
    San Francisco Chronicle ^ | 5/10/5 | Alan Gathright
    The woman who has become nationally known for allegedly planting a finger in a bowl of Wendy's chili smiled and appeared relaxed Monday as she mouthed "I love you all" to family members during her arraignment in a San Jose courtroom. Authorities have accused Anna Ayala, 39, of being a scam artist who attempted to shake down the fast-food chain after the March 22 incident at a Wendy's in San Jose, but the Las Vegas woman appeared in court before a small fan club. A dozen supporters came to the courthouse wearing T-shirts emblazed with "Free Anna Ayala" or "We...
  • Finger finder no stranger to courts (Wendy's)

    05/09/2005 8:27:53 AM PDT · by SwinneySwitch · 36 replies · 1,228+ views
    Corpus Christi Caller-Times ^ | May 9, 2005 | Dan Reed, Edwin Garcia and Brandon Bailey
    South Texas native has sued, been sued many times before SAN JOSE, Calif. - Anna Ayala grew up in a dirt-poor Texas town not far from the Rio Grande. She was the baby of an extended family of 14 children. She trained horses and painted. She had two children of her own and followed her sister west to San Jose, yearning for a better life. She lived in relative obscurity. Then, on March 22, she went to Wendy's for a bowl of chili. When she claimed she bit into a tip of a human finger that day, the 39-year-old daughter...
  • Police nab spouse of Wendy's accuser

    05/06/2005 6:00:55 AM PDT · by Ramonan · 21 replies · 839+ views
    Contra Costa Times ^ | May 6, 2005 | Linda Goldston and Brandon Bailey
    The chili finger saga got even spicier this week: Anna Ayala's husband was arrested at the house the two shared in Las Vegas. San Jose police said the arrest Wednesday of James Plascencia on a $450,000 warrant was unrelated to the charges against his wife, which stem from the now-notorious fingertip she said she found in a bowl of Wendy's chili. Plascencia, 43, was taken into custody on four felony counts of failure to pay child support and child abandonment, one count of identity theft and one count of fraudulent use of official documents in San Jose. "He was using...
  • More allegations about finger lady, husband - His ex-wife said Ayala threw her against a wall

    05/06/2005 7:39:59 AM PDT · by SmithL · 11 replies · 523+ views
    San Francisco Chronicle ^ | 5/6/5 | Alan Gathright
    Anna Ayala once kept a black magic shrine and slammed her husband's ex-wife against a wall when the woman complained about his failure to pay child support, the ex-wife claimed in court records. This portrayal of the woman accused of planting a finger in a bowl of Wendy's chili was contained in court documents supporting the arrest of Ayala's husband, Jaime P. Plascencia, at the couple's Las Vegas home on Wednesday. Plascencia was charged with six felony counts, including failure to pay support for children from previous relationships with two San Jose women and allegedly stealing his young son's identity...