Chains hung up in strip-search phone scam; police seek perp; managers tricked into undressing workers

Nation's Restaurant News, March 22, 2004 by Milford Prewitt

Bertini said managers at Wendy's have the right to search employees suspected of theft while they are working, but the managers can demand only that suspects remove their coats, hats and shoes.

Despite the long history and widespread pattern of the crime, Flaherty said he is optimistic that a culprit will be caught.

"If we hit a dead end, we'll probably give it to the FBI," he said. "But for the moment I think we have a lot going for us. I'm pretty optimistic."

What fuels his optimism is that investigators know that the trickster has been making his calls on a calling card from Panama City, Fla.

Private eye Jablonski said he, too, has found a Panama City, Fla., connection in some of his cases.

He reported, for example, that in early June last year, someone using a calling card reached a Taco Bell unit manager in Juneau, Alaska, from a phone booth in Panama City, Fla.

In that case the con man pretended to be a regional manager who said he was sitting with the police and the parents of a teenage female cashier who was suspected of having drugs on her person.

The manager was ordered to give the phone to the girl, who was introduced to a police officer, who told her to follow the instructions of the unit manager who conducted the strip search.

Jablonski said the manager was on the phone with the scammer 45 minutes before he realized he was being duped.

"But the point is, whoever did this used the phone card for five hours, calling restaurants all over the country," Jablonski said.

"Too me, this is almost like a serial crime."

Laurie Schalow, a spokeswoman for Taco Bell, said since the incident all managers have been ordered to take the phone number of callers identifying themselves as police seeking information about employees, and to call them back to confirm the caller's identity.