Debbie Miller cries "dead rat" - charged with extortion.

[SoUncool]

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5g...I3-nwD91TVQ700

APPLETON, Wis. — A woman accused of planting a dead lab rat in restaurant food and demanding $500,000 to keep quiet was charged Monday with one felony count of extortion. Debbie R. Miller, 41, of Appleton, also faces misdemeanor counts of disorderly conduct and resisting an officer.

Miller claimed to find the rat in her lunch April 17 as she ate at the upscale Seasons Restaurant in Grand Chute, according to the criminal complaint.

She threatened to alert the media unless the owners paid her $500,000, the complaint said.

The owners turned the rat over to their insurance company. Investigators there determined the rodent was a white laboratory rat, the complaint said.

Tests also suggested the rodent had been cooked in a microwave, but the restaurant doesn't use microwaves in cooking.

[jlt080405]

seriously, if you are going to extort from an UPSCALE restaurant, at least sautee the evidence first...dumb bitch

[Unamused Cat]

Oh waiter. There is a rat in my soup. Dumb bitch!

[funnymommy]

seriously, if you are going to extort from an UPSCALE restaurant, at least sautee the evidence first...dumb bitch

In EVOO and a little garlic, at the very least.

[jlt080405]

In EVOO and a little garlic, at the very least.

[Dakota Valkyrie]

woman who attempted to extort money from an upscale restaurant by putting a rat in her lunch entered no-contest pleas Tuesday to two criminal charges.

Judge Dee Dyer found Debbie R. Miller, 43, guilty after she entered the pleas to a felony extortion charge and a misdemeanor for obstructing police. She will be sentenced March 8 in Outagamie County Court.
[...]

"This has been a long, drawn-out battle and it has affected my business. We would hope that if anyone had any doubts that it was a true claim, they would know now that it was extortion," said Bob Doller, who owns The Seasons in Grand Chute with his wife, Jessica.
[...]

Dist. Atty. Carrie Schneider said she will recommend three years of probation. Her recommendation for a jail sentence would range from six to nine months depending on how much restitution Miller is able to pay before sentencing.

As part of the pending plea deal, a disorderly conduct charge was dismissed.
[...]

The case was delayed in the past year because of questions about Miller's competency.

Dyer ruled in October that Miller was competent to stand trial despite a psychologist's report that she suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder and has multiple personalities.

Miller faces maximum penalties of a $10,000 fine and 3½ years in prison on the extortion charge. The misdemeanor carries a maximum $10,000 fine and nine months in jail.

Dyer said any outstanding restitution for restaurant losses will be discussed at the sentencing hearing.

http://www.postcrescent.com/article/...y-of-extortion

[MC30]

wow. this is the first time i've read this. i wonder if it was really about money?

[Jerri Blank]

[Dakota Valkyrie]

An Appleton woman's attempt to extort $500,000 from an upscale Grand Chute restaurant was "crazy and outlandish," her defense attorney said Friday at her sentencing.

Debbie Miller will spend nine months in jail and four years on probation instead of collecting hush money after planting a rat in her lunch.

Miller, 43, was sentenced in Outagamie County Court for the 2008 incident at The Seasons.
[...]

Defense attorney Edmund Jelinski said the amount Miller tried to extort shows she has mental problems caused by a life of suffering from abuse.

"Five hundred thousand dollars isn't trying to get a quick buck," he said. "Five hundred thousand dollars is a delusion of grandeur."

At the urging of one of their cooks, restaurant owners Bob and Jessica Doller kept the rat after the extortion attempt. Insurance investigators sent it for testing and determined that it was a domestic white rat that had been cooked in a microwave. The restaurant doesn't use microwaves.

Police determined that Miller purchased the rat days before the incident.
[...]

Dist. Atty. Carrie Schneider said the crime brought unbelievable stress not only to the Dollers, but also their employees. It caused financial hardship, and to this day, people still connect the rat incident with the restaurant, Schneider said.

The impact is "very significant and severe," she said.

Schneider also acknowledged Miller's ongoing therapy needs. Judge Dee Dyer's sentence matched the prosecution's request.

Dyer structured the sentence so he can reconsider a prison sentence should Miller fail to abide by rules during probation. The jail sentence will allow her release for treatment, education and work.

Dyer scheduled a May 20 hearing to address restitution. The Dollers are requesting $31,000 based on factors including lost business.

Jelinski, who plans to contest the amount, asked for probation in part to allow for Miller to earn money so she can begin repaying the Dollers.

"I don't think Miss Miller is a hardened criminal," he said. "I think Miss Miller is broken."

Dyer said the presentence report was among the most bizarre he's seen while a judge. The jail sentence, he said, should serve to assure the community that scheme's like Miller's will be punished severely.

"It's heinous," he said.

http://www.postcrescent.com/article/...1/4240469/1979