DNA Analysis Proves It: Chili's Waiter Spit in Drink

Kept his job for months afterward
By Brownie Marie,  Newser Staff
Posted Jun 4, 2015 6:16 PM CDT
DNA Analysis Proves It: Waiter Spit in Customer's Drink
   (Shutterstock)

Vindictive servers beware: A Chili's restaurant and an ex-employee were hit with a lawsuit on Tuesday after DNA analysis proved the employee in question hawked a loogie in a man's cup. The incident occurred in July 2014, when Ken Yerdon and his wife had dinner at the restaurant's Route 31 location in Clay, New York. The couple informed 24-year-old server Gregory Lamica that they never received chips and that their food was undercooked, but they tell ABC News that they did so politely. They "even left a tip," says the Yerdons' attorney. In one of their to-go cups, however, Lamica left a token of his dissatisfaction with the couple. "The lid popped off and I looked in and there was some spit in the cup," says Yerdon, who had already sipped from it.

"It wasn't regular spit either," Yerdon tells Syracuse.com. "It was definitely a loogie." In the Chili’s parking lot, a "bawling" Lamica wouldn't confess after Yerdon returned to confront him, but did say, "I don't want to lose my job," Yerdon says. Police took a mouth swab, and Lamica quit his job about the time the results came in three months later. He was charged with disorderly conduct and pleaded guilty in February. The Yerdons received a refund and coupons as compensation, but were incensed that Lamica wasn't fired before he quit on his own—which is why they're now suing the Chili’s owner, the restaurant's parent company, and Lamica for unspecified damages. (More Chili's stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X