Wendy’s Accuser Fingered By Police

By Linda Orlando

On March 22, Anna Ayala rocketed into the national media spotlight when she claimed that she bit down on a well-manicured 1-1/2 inch finger while eating a steaming bowl of chili in a San Jose Wendy’s restaurant. Ayala, 39, quickly hired a lawyer and filed a lawsuit against the franchise owner for her seemingly horrific experience. But her story quickly turned from one of squeamishness to one of shock when police turned the investigation back toward her. On Friday police in San Jose officially declared Ayala’s claim a hoax and arrested her at her home outside Las Vegas, charging her with attempted grand larceny. The arrest was the latest twist in a case that has been discussed on every media circuit imaginable, including late-night comedy monologues.

Ayala’s claim was treated with utmost urgency and seriousness by Wendy’s, who hired private investigators, set up a hot line for tips, and offered a $100,000 reward for information leading to the identification of the finger’s original owner. Police and health officials failed to find any missing fingers among the workers in the restaurant or among the workers involved in the supply chain along the way to the restaurant. The fuss over the outlandish story caused sales at Wendy’s to drop, particularly in California, forcing layoffs and the reduction of employee hours in stores in the northern part of the state. Joseph Desmond, owner of the Wendy’s franchise where Ayala claimed the incident happened, said that the past few weeks have been a nightmarish ordeal. "It's been 31 days, and believe me it's been really tough," he said. "My thanks also go out to all the little people who were hurt in our stores. They lost a lot of wages because we had to cut back because our business has been down so badly."

When police could not determine how the finger had landed in Ayala’s chili, they began turning their investigation back toward her, and that’s when they discovered that Ayala has a history of bringing claims against big corporations in order to extort money from them. Upon learning that she was being investigated, Ayala dropped her lawsuit and vehemently denied placing the finger in the chili. But David Keneller, captain of the San Jose police department’s investigations bureau, says that Ayala’s claim is definitely a hoax. At a news conference, police refused to say where the finger originated and exactly how the hoax was carried out. But according to Police Chief Rob Davis, "What we have found is that thus far our evidence suggests the truest victims in this case are indeed the Wendy's owner, operators, and employees here in San Jose."

A person knowledgeable about the case spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity, saying that the police had interviewed at least two people who did not know each other. Each said that Ayala told them about putting the finger in the chili, despite her public statements to the contrary. It is unclear whether or not Ayala is even capable of telling the truth, because another of her claims is that she received $30,000 from a Mexican food chain after her 13-year old daughter became sick after eating at one of the restaurants. The chain denies that it ever paid her anything for her claim. Ayala’s arrest Friday also included more charges alleging grand larceny stemming from a 2002 incident in which Ayala tried to sell a mobile home that she did not own. The victim of that scam lost $11,000. Ayala’s son, Guadalupe Reyes, Jr., told reporters that his mother did not steal any money in connection with the trailer.

Now that the hoax has been exposed, Wendy's retaurants in the San Francisco Bay area are working hard to get customers to come back by offering free Frosties this weekend. Although some loyal customers haven't left. One man at the San Jose restaurant joked about the two bowls of chili he ordered by saying, "If they've got ten fingers, it's okay with me." The day before Ayala was arrested, Wendy’s announced that it was ending its internal investigation, saying they had been unable to locate any link between their restaurant chain and the chili finger. Tom Mueller, president and CEO of Wendy’s North America, said in a statement Friday, "We’re thrilled that an arrest has been made."