Teh One Who Knocks
07-29-2011, 05:28 PM
Adhesive strip found in a pie the unkindest slice for Ballston Lake man
By PAUL GRONDAHL - Albany Times-Union Staff writer
http://i.imgur.com/dIc3E.jpg
BALLSTON LAKE -- Ken Wieczerza usually loves a slice of leftover pizza from the refrigerator.
But when he bit into this particular piece of cold Pizza Hut pie, he recoiled when his teeth encountered an unexpected ingredient: a blue bandage with what appeared to be remnants of dried blood.
"It felt kind of like biting into a folded-up piece of plastic," he recalled. "I can't think of anything more disgusting than chewing on a bandage, other than a body part. Fortunately, I didn't swallow it."
The bandage was baked into the bottom crust with a slight indentation, he said. The approximately 1-by-3-inch adhesive strip in a bright blue hue was dotted with what looked like blood droplets.
The revolting find came on June 9, the day after he purchased the large supreme pizza with pepperoni, ham, green peppers and other toppings as takeout from a Clifton Park location. Since then, the bandage and half-eaten slice has been sealed in a plastic zip-close bag and stored in his freezer as evidence while Wieczerza has engaged in a rising contretemps with Pizza Hut officials.
"I'm not out to hurt the restaurant, the manager or the employees and that's why I waited so long to take it to this level after I tried to keep it low-key and private," said the 52-year-old manager for a distribution company. He said his job gives him firsthand knowledge of how the fast-food industry works.
Weiczerza said he and his wife, Donna, tried to resolve the matter privately for several weeks, but numerous e-mails and phone messages went unanswered.
"I explained all I wanted was to bill the company for blood work and tests to make sure that whoever wore this bandage didn't have hepatitis or AIDS or some other disease," he said.
He eventually spoke with Pizza Hut officials, but they've since stopped returning his calls and they have not offered to pay for a medical work-up.
"They forced my hand and I went to the media," he said.
Pizza Hut officials did not respond Thursday to requests for comment. "I have nothing to say about the situation," said a manager at the Route 9 location who did not give her name.
A company spokesman told News 10 that they "take these matters very seriously and we are conducting a thorough investigation of the incident." The spokesman challenged the veracity of Wieczerza's account by saying that the bandage style and dough type were not consistent with Pizza Hut protocol.
"We didn't show anybody from Pizza Hut the pizza or the bandage and they basically called us liars," Wieczerza said. "I finally said enough is enough."
He said he has consulted a lawyer.
By PAUL GRONDAHL - Albany Times-Union Staff writer
http://i.imgur.com/dIc3E.jpg
BALLSTON LAKE -- Ken Wieczerza usually loves a slice of leftover pizza from the refrigerator.
But when he bit into this particular piece of cold Pizza Hut pie, he recoiled when his teeth encountered an unexpected ingredient: a blue bandage with what appeared to be remnants of dried blood.
"It felt kind of like biting into a folded-up piece of plastic," he recalled. "I can't think of anything more disgusting than chewing on a bandage, other than a body part. Fortunately, I didn't swallow it."
The bandage was baked into the bottom crust with a slight indentation, he said. The approximately 1-by-3-inch adhesive strip in a bright blue hue was dotted with what looked like blood droplets.
The revolting find came on June 9, the day after he purchased the large supreme pizza with pepperoni, ham, green peppers and other toppings as takeout from a Clifton Park location. Since then, the bandage and half-eaten slice has been sealed in a plastic zip-close bag and stored in his freezer as evidence while Wieczerza has engaged in a rising contretemps with Pizza Hut officials.
"I'm not out to hurt the restaurant, the manager or the employees and that's why I waited so long to take it to this level after I tried to keep it low-key and private," said the 52-year-old manager for a distribution company. He said his job gives him firsthand knowledge of how the fast-food industry works.
Weiczerza said he and his wife, Donna, tried to resolve the matter privately for several weeks, but numerous e-mails and phone messages went unanswered.
"I explained all I wanted was to bill the company for blood work and tests to make sure that whoever wore this bandage didn't have hepatitis or AIDS or some other disease," he said.
He eventually spoke with Pizza Hut officials, but they've since stopped returning his calls and they have not offered to pay for a medical work-up.
"They forced my hand and I went to the media," he said.
Pizza Hut officials did not respond Thursday to requests for comment. "I have nothing to say about the situation," said a manager at the Route 9 location who did not give her name.
A company spokesman told News 10 that they "take these matters very seriously and we are conducting a thorough investigation of the incident." The spokesman challenged the veracity of Wieczerza's account by saying that the bandage style and dough type were not consistent with Pizza Hut protocol.
"We didn't show anybody from Pizza Hut the pizza or the bandage and they basically called us liars," Wieczerza said. "I finally said enough is enough."
He said he has consulted a lawyer.