McDonald's Worker Vindicated After False Food Tampering Accusation

A McDonald's employee accused of putting glass in a police officer's food has been awarded nearly $500,000 after his lawyer proved he was falsely accused. [relate]

According to Reuters, in 2005 officer John Florio accused 18-year-old Albert Garcia of putting glass in the hamburger he ordered from a McDonald's restaurant in the Bronx. Garcia confessed after several hours of questioning, but he later recanted his testimony and said the confession was forced.

About a week after the incident allegedly happened, Florio tried to sue the McDonald's franchisee for six million dollars, and eventually settled for $15,000 in 2009.

But Garcia's lawyer said the ER records from Florio's visit did not indicate symptoms in line with having swallowed glass, and multiple employees of the McDonald's testified that Garcia had come in late that day and thus was not even in the restaurant when the alleged glass-spiking took place.

Garcia sued the city and Florio, and on Friday, New York City said it had settled with Garcia for $437,000. The city's Law Department said the payout was "in the best interest" of both parties.