[Just4FunNC]

Updated: 04:18 PM EDT
Bizarre Twist in Chili Finger Case
Woman Who Claims to Have Found Body Part Arrested
By CHRISTINA ALMEIDA, AP



ABC

Anna Ayala claims she found a finger in Wendy's chili March 22.


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LAS VEGAS (April 22) -- The woman who claimed she found a finger in a bowl of Wendy's chili has been arrested, the latest twist in a case that has become a late-night punch line and forced the fast-food chain to check its employees for missing digits.

Anna Ayala, 39, was arrested late Thursday at her home outside Las Vegas.

Authorities would not provide details until a news conference Friday afternoon in San Jose, Calif. - the city where Ayala claimed she bit down on the well-manicured, 1 1/2-inch fingertip in a mouthful of her steamy chili on March 22.

Ayala had hired a lawyer and filed a claim against the Wendy's franchise owner, but dropped the lawsuit threat soon after suspicion fell on her.

She was arrested on a warrant alleging grand larceny and attempted grand larceny.

The grand larceny count is not related to the discovery of the fingertip, but the attempted larceny charge is, according to a person knowledgeable about the case who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The charge stemmed from San Jose police interviews with people who said Ayala described putting a finger in the chili, the person said, adding that investigators still did not know where the finger came from. The person said the interviews were with at least two people who did not know each other and independently told similar stories.

Ayala has denied placing the finger in the chili.

''We're thrilled that an arrest has been made,'' Tom Mueller, president and chief operating officer of Wendy's North America, said in a statement.

During the investigation, police and health officials failed to find any missing digits among the workers involved in the restaurant's supply chain. Wendy's hired private investigators, set up a hot line for tips and offered a $100,000 reward for information leading to the finger's original owner.

The furor caused sales at Wendy's to drop, forcing layoffs and reduced hours in Northern California.

Earlier Thursday, Ohio-based Wendy's announced it had ended its internal investigation, saying it could find no link between the finger and the restaurant chain.

Ayala has a litigious history. She has filed claims against several corporations, though it is unclear whether she received any money. She said she got $30,000 from a Mexican food chain after her 13-year-old daughter got sick at one of the restaurant, but the chain denied it paid her anything.


AP-NY-04-22-05 16:06 EDT

Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. All active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.

What's the big deal. Wendy's didn't charge her extra for the finger did they?

[t160hq]

Wendy's is missing the boat on this one.

They should be making a cheap plastic spoon that looks like a finger and giving out one with every bowl of chili.

This is california after all. They would eat that sort of thing up.

Pardon the pun.

t160hq