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45
the “offending” burrito, seeking “get rich quick.”142 Goff was charged with attempted extortion and faced a five-year prison sentence. He pled guilty to a lesser charge of “attempted false pretenses between $1000 and $20,000” in what the prosecutor called a “plan so ill-conceived from the beginning that it is more foolish than sinister.”143 Because the plan was so simple-minded, failed so completely, and Taco Bell did not suffer serious long-term economic consequences, the plea to a lesser charge yielded only sixteen to thirty months in prison. This hair-brained scheme by a self professed substance abuser who admitted that he lacked proper judgment might not have ever happened were it not for the excessive media coverage of the Wendy’s “finger in the chili” discussed next.144
Wendy’s Finger in the Chili
This case and its salacious details warrant a separate and more complete telling of the story. Combine good old American greed with excessive media coverage and calculated planning, stir in a pot of public spectacle, and the product is one of the worst hoaxes ever committed against a private company. Known as Wendy’s finger in the chili, it is the case of viper Anna Ayala and her husband Jaime Plascencia. In March 2005, Anna Ayala went to a Wendy’s restaurant in San Jose, California and purchased the chili as part of a plot to get rich. She claimed to have begun to eat the chili when she bit down on something that crunched and was hard. When she spit out the object she was horrified to discover a severed finger in her
142 Ibid.
143 Ian C. Storey, “The Man Who Cried ‘Mouse’ accepts a plea deal,” Traverse City
Eagle-Record, May 10, 2006, http://archives.record-eagle.com/2006.may/10goff.htm
144 Mr. Goff blamed his plot on his substance abuse and bad judgment, saying “my decisions aren’t right” (Record-Eagle, June 3, 2006).
Object Description
| Title | An argument for the criminal hoax |
| Author | Pellegrini, Laura A. |
| Author email | user1963@yahoo.com; teachpolsci@yahoo.com |
| Degree | Doctor of Philosophy |
| Document type | Dissertation |
| Degree program | Political Science |
| School | College of Letters, Arts and Sciences |
| Date defended/completed | 2008-08-20 |
| Date submitted | 2008 |
| Restricted until | Unrestricted |
| Date published | 2008-10-13 |
| Advisor (committee chair) | Renteln, Alison Dundes |
| Advisor (committee member) |
Wong, Janelle S. Newland, Chester A. |
| Abstract | Hoaxes are part of the fabric of history. While many provide humor and lighthearted joy, the criminal hoax does not. To date, researchers have included aspects of the criminal hoax in larger academic works. This is an original typology that sets forth the criminal hoax as a distinct part of the larger field of law and public policy. This work provides newly created definitions including four distinct categories of hoaxes: the monetary hoax, the attention getter hoax, the hate crime hoax and the racial hoax. It further illustrates these types with actual detailed accounts of hoaxes and provides insights to each one. It makes policy recommendations concerning the four categories of needs: 1. legislative action, 2. a nationwide statistical database of hoax events, 3. media involvement, and 4. law enforcement training and action to deal with criminal hoaxes. Finally, it recommends further research to identify the causes and motivations of vipers. The ultimate goal of this project is to find ways to eliminate criminal hoaxes. |
| Keyword | criminal hoax; hoax categories |
| Language | English |
| Part of collection | University of Southern California dissertations and theses |
| Publisher (of the original version) | University of Southern California |
| Place of publication (of the original version) | Los Angeles, California |
| Publisher (of the digital version) | University of Southern California. Libraries |
| Provenance | Electronically uploaded by the author |
| Type | texts |
| Legacy record ID | usctheses-m1659 |
| Contributing entity | University of Southern California |
| Rights | Pellegrini, Laura A. |
| Repository name | Libraries, University of Southern California |
| Repository address | Los Angeles, California |
| Repository email | cisadmin@lib.usc.edu |
| Filename | etd-Pellegrini-2397 |
| Archival file | uscthesesreloadpub_Volume26/etd-Pellegrini-2397.pdf |
Description
| Title | Page 51 |
| Contributing entity | University of Southern California |
| Repository email | cisadmin@lib.usc.edu |
| Full text | 45 the “offending” burrito, seeking “get rich quick.”142 Goff was charged with attempted extortion and faced a five-year prison sentence. He pled guilty to a lesser charge of “attempted false pretenses between $1000 and $20,000” in what the prosecutor called a “plan so ill-conceived from the beginning that it is more foolish than sinister.”143 Because the plan was so simple-minded, failed so completely, and Taco Bell did not suffer serious long-term economic consequences, the plea to a lesser charge yielded only sixteen to thirty months in prison. This hair-brained scheme by a self professed substance abuser who admitted that he lacked proper judgment might not have ever happened were it not for the excessive media coverage of the Wendy’s “finger in the chili” discussed next.144 Wendy’s Finger in the Chili This case and its salacious details warrant a separate and more complete telling of the story. Combine good old American greed with excessive media coverage and calculated planning, stir in a pot of public spectacle, and the product is one of the worst hoaxes ever committed against a private company. Known as Wendy’s finger in the chili, it is the case of viper Anna Ayala and her husband Jaime Plascencia. In March 2005, Anna Ayala went to a Wendy’s restaurant in San Jose, California and purchased the chili as part of a plot to get rich. She claimed to have begun to eat the chili when she bit down on something that crunched and was hard. When she spit out the object she was horrified to discover a severed finger in her 142 Ibid. 143 Ian C. Storey, “The Man Who Cried ‘Mouse’ accepts a plea deal,” Traverse City Eagle-Record, May 10, 2006, http://archives.record-eagle.com/2006.may/10goff.htm 144 Mr. Goff blamed his plot on his substance abuse and bad judgment, saying “my decisions aren’t right” (Record-Eagle, June 3, 2006). |
