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Father & son stole $41k worth of chicken wings from work to resell on black market

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X

XiaNaphryz

LATIN, MATRIPEDICABUS, DO YOU SPEAK IT
Syracuse restaurant owners describe chicken-wing 'black market'

SYRACUSE, NY -- Paul Rojek promised Onondaga County Judge Anthony Aloi in early September that he would not commit another crime for at least three years as a condition of his sentence for stealing thousands of dollars of food items from Dominick's, the restaurant he worked at as a cook.

But police say Rojek and his son were, at that point, seven months into the exact same type of scam at Rojek's new restaurant, Twin Trees Too. Police said Monday that Rojek, 56, and son Joshua Rojek, 33, stole $41,000 worth of chicken wings from the restaurant and later sold them "on the street" and to other establishments over the course of nine months or so.

Onondaga County Sheriff's Office spokesman Jon Seeber said the United States Department of Agriculture was notified about at least one establishment that bought the stolen goods "due to the chicken being transported improperly." However, a spokeswoman for the federal department said Tuesday it was unaware of the issue.

A prosecutor said the establishments hypothetically could be charged with receiving stolen property but only if it's proven that they did so "knowingly". She was unaware if that was an inquiry in the current case against the Rojeks.

Interviews with restaurant owners and prosecutors in Syracuse since the arrests describe a somewhat common practice of selling chicken wings -- and turkey breasts and shrimp and lobster tails -- out of the back of a pickup truck or from a warehouse.

"It's actually kind of funny that there's a black market for chicken wings," prosecutor Beth Van Doren said in a phone interview Tuesday. "But the demand is that high".
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Rojek's boss at Twin Trees Too, Dan Rescignano, said a number of under-the-table sellers have come by over the years to sell truckloads of meat products at low prices. He said his Milton Avenue restaurant hired a private investigator to follow Rojek as he tried to sell the goods.

They captured him doing so to a convenience store, he said, though he would only say that the store was near Dominick's restaurant and that it was "cooperating" with police.

Also, Jason Thomas, a vocal member of a local restaurant group and owner of Arad Evans Inn and Papa Gallo, said it's rare, but that sellers have tried to sell him truckloads of shrimp. The last time it happened was "years ago," he said, but he knows there's a market for the goods. He urged government officials to fine and prosecute those who buy the goods.

"Obviously there is a market somewhere. I would imagine that's in places that are not your ordinary run-of-the-mill restaurants. They would have to be a little seedy," he said. "The establishments that are ... buying product off the back of a truck – they should be fined and prosecuted. It's not OK."

Rescignano of Twin Trees Too said the restaurant was aware of the allegations against Rojek when they hired him in January.

"We were aware. He was upfront about it," Rescignano said. "We give second chances around here.... He swore up and down that he wouldn't screw us."

But then owners began noticing that only 20 percent of the wings they were buying were showing up in the restaurant. They began to watch Rojek more closely, ultimately hiring a private investigator and asking for criminal charges.

A judge can decide to issue a "violation" of his conditional discharge, the prosecutor said, based on the most-recent charges. That could result in harsher or increased sentencing.
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TY398uI.jpg
 
L

Lonely1

Unconfirmed Member
But then owners began noticing that only 20 percent of the wings they were buying were showing up in the restaurant. They began to watch Rojek more closely, ultimately hiring a private investigator and asking for criminal charges.
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SMH. At least learn to be subtle about it...
 
Icefire1424

Icefire1424

Member
America. The only country in the world where a black market for chicken wings could exist.

Read thread title and immediately knew this was Syracuse. Live here, and it's been all over the local news lately. Anyways, the wings at OIP are better.
 
G

GrizzleBoy

Banned
The black market......

A man appears in front of you in a long trench coat and a hat almost covering his face.

He opens his coat like the wings of an eagle.

Illegal chicken wings draped as far as the eye can see.

Hey buddy, wanna chicken wing?








What.
 
B

BatDan

Bane? Get them on board, I'll call it in.
What makes black market chicken wings different from chicken wings I can just go out and buy?
 
C

ConfusingJazz

Member
Interviews with restaurant owners and prosecutors in Syracuse since the arrests describe a somewhat common practice of selling chicken wings -- and turkey breasts and shrimp and lobster tails -- out of the back of a pickup truck or from a warehouse.
Click to expand...

Syracuse, you have problems.
 
Grizzlyjin

Grizzlyjin

Supersonic, idiotic, disconnecting, not respecting, who would really ever wanna go and top that
I bet you a lot of bars contribute to this chicken wing black market so they can have super cheap wing specials.
 
L

Littlefang

Member
"Obviously there is a market somewhere. I would imagine that's in places that are not your ordinary run-of-the-mill restaurants. They would have to be a little seedy," he said. "The establishments that are ... buying product off the back of a truck – they should be fined and prosecuted. It's not OK."
Click to expand...

Yikes yeah I hope those places go down. They could make a lot of people get sick since I doubt father and son were storing the stolen goods properly. I mean even if they don't get nailed for stolen goods they should be held accountable for whatever health code violations they've broken.
 
A

Agent Gibbs

Member
what?
WHAT?

jesus what next? night time runs of vans loaded with chicken to Atlantic city to KFC speakeasy's?

this is the weirdest story i've read in a while, black market chicken
 
old

old

Member
He was stealing 80% of the purchased chicken wing inventory? Geez. Did he honestly think they wouldn't notice?
 
K

katagai

Member
Not surprised. When I worked at a grocery store a few years ago, I was told that this was a thing, usually involving steak and other cuts of beef. I even knew of someone who got busted for this, except they were stealing frozen lobster and selling it out of their truck.
 
W

we.are.the.armada

Member
super fucked up happens a lot with many foods. I once heard about a black market seller that sold splenda and siracha etc. in bulk and ab roughly half the price of costco. This guy was supplying many unknowing food truck owners until he got busted
 
U

User 406

Banned
If there's a black market for chicken wings, I want in. I fry sixty wings when I'm doing my bulk frying for the freezer, and it would be great to get a discount. I'll pay 75 cents per pound.
 
A

Alienous

Member
animlboogy said:
You'd think if he wanted to get away with it he would have stolen 20%, not left 20% of a popular item for the restaurant.
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Holy shit, they left the restaurant with 20%!? I thought they took 20%, that's how I read the sentence. Taking 80% is ridiculous, especially when your employer is aware of your chicken stealing history.
 
I

industrian

will gently cradle you as time slowly ticks away.
All these years they thought they liked stealing chicken because it was profitable, turns out they're genetically predisposed to stealing chicken.
 
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