Florida Chef Sentenced For Purposely Poisoning Hibachi Restaurant's Sauce

A former Florida chef will spend seven years in prison for purposely poisoning a sauce at a restaurant where he worked. 

Margarito Padilla, 54, pleaded no contest to introducing a chemical into a food or drink, as part of a deal.

Lakeland police say Padilla was arrested last June after the owner of Hibachi Express watched surveillance video that showed him access a container of poisonous drain cleaner (plumber's lye) and head to the area where the Yum Yum Sauce was kept.

The owner had checked the video after tasting the sauce during a routine inspection and immediately feeling his mouth burn.

Padilla eventually acknowledged tainting the sauce because he was unhappy about working conditions.


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