Chad Ochocinco cereal box connects with sex line

Misprinted phone number was supposed to reach children's charity

 

Jennifer Baker

September 30, 2010

 

CINCINNATI - Boxes of Chad Ochocinco cereal are being removed from Kroger store shelves after a phone number on the package meant to direct consumers to a children’s charity connects callers to an explicit phone sex line.

The number on the boxes, 1-800-HELP-FTC, connects callers to a seductive-sounding woman’s voice and music. She teases in shocking detail and then asks for a debit or credit card number: “You must be 18 or older to get into this party, baby!”

A portion of proceeds from the official, limited edition cereal of the Bengals wide receiver goes to Feed The Children organization. According to their website, the correct number is 1-888-HELP-FTC.

A spokesman for the Oklahoma City-based Feed The Children conceded the error appears to be the organization's mistake, one they are working to fix.

"We didn't even know the other number existed," said Tony Sellars, company spokesman.

Robert Bailey, president of Rosenhaus Sports, which represents Ochocinco, said Ochocinco expects the correct number will appear on new cereal boxes.

"We greatly regret the mistake and the trouble it has caused, but Chad himself was in no way involved in this error,'' Bailey said.

In the Bengals locker room on Thursday with a box of the cereal still featured prominently in his locker, Ochocinco apologized over the flap and called it “an honest mistake” while hoping some good could come out of it.

“I’ve been part of the organization and been doing things to help bring awareness to the causes. Having the cereal was another way,” Ochocinco said. “Anyone I’ve affected I really do apologize. Some people got a laugh out of it, others are upset.

“It’s a little bit of a negative but it sheds a positive light on what I’m doing. They have to get the right number 1-888-Help FTC. Not 800. If you dial 800 you’re on your own.”

Ochocinco also said he would take the blame for not noticing the wrong number and also said that it probably had not been noticed until now because people were donating online instead of using the toll-free number.

“In a positive light, it’s bringing more attention not just to Feed the Children and the cereal but also myself. I hope people do understand it’s something good,” he said.

Kroger workers began pulling the boxes of Ochocincos from shelves Thursday morning and were trying to reach the supplier, PLB Sports of Pittsburgh.

“Of course, we don’t want the message to get lost. The idea was to support the children,” said James Avant, an assistant advertising manager and a company spokesman. “(But) with that mistake, the wrong number, it’s just in the best interests to pull the boxes.”

Tara Sand of Reading said her family made the discovery Wednesday night when her sister-in-law called the number on speaker phone. The family was interested in perhaps donating to the children’s charity.

“That’s when we heard the lovely sex line that was on there,” Sand, 28, said sarcastically Thursday. “Needless to say, I thought she had dialed the wrong number. We quickly turned it off because our daughter, Lexi, who is 9, was looking at us with lots of questions on her face.”

Sand said her husband redialed the number to make sure – and came up with the sex line again. So she called her mother – and her mother said her cereal box also listed the same wrong number. “We were quite astonished,” Sand said.

She hopes the incident won’t negatively reflect on the Cincinnati Bengals, or Ochocinco.

“The thing that is most disappointing about this is nobody wants bad press,” she said. “(Ochocinco) may be a celebrity, but he’s obviously endorsing Feed the Children. I imagine he would have no idea this happened. It looks bad. It looks bad for the Bengals. It looks bad for Chad. It looks bad for Feed the Children. People calling to make a donation getting a sex line, that’s not the greatest thing in the world.”

The low fat, honey nut, toasted oat cereal -- called Ochocincos -- went on sale earlier this month at the Newport Kroger store.

The store manager at the Newport Kroger store was horrified when an Enquirer reporter notified him of the mix-up Thursday morning.

“What! Are you kidding?” responded manager Eric Harmon. “We have a huge display of that.”

Ochocinco did put a funny spin on the situation, saying: “Remember, this was made in Pittsburgh. Something isn’t right.”

Joe Reedy contributed to this report.

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Murrieta Man Sues Landlord Over Stolen Marijuana Plants

Court records show about $35,000 worth of plants were stolen

JOSH STEINER

Updated 1:30 PM PDT, Wed, Sep 29, 2010 

A Murrieta man is suing his landlord over stolen marijuana crops worth $35,000. Gary Hite said that the break-in was due to the landlord's failure to secure the building after an earlier burglary.

Hite is suing for negligence and breach of contract.

Hite said that a neighboring unit was broken into in May, leaving the door damaged and unlocked.  The landlord, Krista Hundley, apparently examined the damage, however did not do anything further, according to the lawsuit. 

On June 7, burglars entered the damaged unit and smashed through Hite's drywall. 

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Meet the MET: Marijuana Eradication Team

"Having torn through the interior wall, the thieves then tore through the premises and stole 35 mature marijuana plants," according to the complaint.

Murrieta police said that Hite's operation was illegal and he had been fined thousands of dollars in various safety violations. 

The Press-Enterprise reported that records said Hite has been renting the building since February and was growing the plants for medicinal purposes.  Hite claimed that 35 plants worth about $1,000 each were stolen, the PE reported.
 

 

First Published: Sep 29, 2010 11:13 AM PDT

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Former President Carter to spend night in Cleveland hospital

 

Ty Tagami, Kristi E. Swartz and Craig Schneider

President Jimmy Carter will spend the night in a Cleveland hospital after suffering from an upset stomach while aboard a Delta flight. 

Carter, 85, was taken to Metro Health Hospital "for observation," his spokesperson, Deanna Congileo, said. He will remain there overnight at the recommendation of his doctor, and plans to resume his book tour Wednesday in Washington, she said.

“Upon further examination, by Metro Health Medical Center physicians, it was determined that former U.S. President Jimmy Carter would be admitted to the hospital for continued observation,” hospital spokeswoman Shannon Mortland said. “He is fully alert and participating in all decision making related to his care. The decision to admit him overnight is purely precautionary.”

Carter was rushed to the hospital after his plane was met by paramedics in Cleveland. He had complained of an upset stomach.

Jimmy Carter’s grandson, state Sen. Jason Carter, said the family understands that Carter is doing fine and they are not overly concerned.

“My understanding is that he is doing fine,” Jason Carter said. “I think it’s a stomach bug.”

Jason Carter said his grandfather’s general health is “fantastic.”

“He’s in great health. He gets good medical care and lots of attention,” he said.

Carter, a native of Plains, Ga., served as the 39th President of the United States from 1977 to 1981. He was Georgia's 76th governor, from 1971 to 1975.

During a stop Tuesday at a restaurant in Albuquerque, President Barack Obama told reporters he planned to call Carter as soon as he gets to Air Force One for his trip to Wisconsin later in the day.

Carter has been traveling to promote his new book, "White House Diary."

His appearance at Joseph-Beth Booksellers has been canceled today, disappointing 600 people who were waiting to hear him speak about his book, said general manager Ken Dickens. The former president’s visit will be rescheduled, he said.

Carter was arriving on Delta flight 5214 at 11:20 a.m. when the pilot called airport officials to alert them that the plane had a passenger who was feeling sick, said Todd Payne, chief of marketing at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport.

The airport deployed its "airport rescue firefighting squad," a paramedic response team. He said Carter was conscious when he exited the plane.

"They assessed his  medical condition and dispatched him to Metro Health Hospital in Cleveland," Payne said. "He was not feeling well."

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2,772 people could be eligible for 'crack tax' refunds in TN

Class-action lawsuit could benefit those who paid drug levy

 

Brian Haas • THE TENNESSEAN • September 28, 2010

 

 

Then, he got his money back. Plus interest.

"I got every penny back," said his Nashville lawyer, David Raybin.

Tennesseans in a slow trickle have requested and gotten refunds from the state since the Tennessee Supreme Court struck down the so-called crack tax law in 2009. The state Department of Revenue has refunded $3.7 million to 161 people, but 2,772 people who paid the tax have not gotten any money back.

The law required people who bought or sold illicit drugs to buy a tax stamp for the amount of drugs they had. If they didn't, state agents seized their property and raided their bank accounts until the state got whatever amount was owed.

"Most of them just don't know, and the state doesn't have any intention of letting them know, that they're eligible for a full refund," said Columbia attorney John Colley, who is leading a class-action lawsuit that would allow attorneys to identify and notify all people who paid the tax while it was still on the books.

Critics called the law absurd, but it went into effect in 2005.

It didn't take long for the state to go after drug suspects. Attorneys rattle off horror stories of surprise seizures with revenue agents chasing people down.

"They've broken children's piggy banks. They've taken properties that have been in families for generations," said Knoxville attorney Philip Lomonaco, the attorney who got the law struck down. "They've actually chased people down at the courthouse to get gold chains. It's ruthless."

Though the public may have little sympathy for drug dealers and users, the tax seizures typically came before a suspect was even convicted.

The state took $30,000 from one of Lomonaco's clients before he was convicted on a marijuana charge, and the man lost his house.

The state Supreme Court struck the law down in July 2009 as unconstitutional, saying the legislature overstepped its taxing authority. Basically, drug dealers and users didn't fit into the category of "merchants" or "peddlers" under state law, so they couldn't be taxed.

By that time, the state had collected $10.3 million from people. And every person who paid was eligible for a refund.

"Before the sun set on the Cumberland, I was filing claims," Raybin said. "I've been filing claims left and right, and they will give you a refund as long as you fall within certain parameters."

If Colley's class-action suit is successful before the state Supreme Court, everyone who paid the crack tax will receive a notice that they could be eligible for a refund. If it fails, they're on their own, and some who paid the crack tax — namely those who paid in 2005 and 2006 — won't be able to get refunds because the statute of limitations has passed.

The Supreme Court has not yet said whether it will hear the case.

Legislators in May passed a new version of the crack tax. The new law, which took effect July 1, targets only cases that involve drugs worth $10,000 or more.

It also redefines drug dealers to be considered "merchants," like any other business in the state, and therefore taxable.

"We really didn't define what a dealer was," said state Rep. Charles Curtiss, D-Sparta, who helped sponsor the original and the new crack tax legislation. "We were making an assumption when we caught someone with X amount of marijuana or X amount of drugs that they were selling it."

Curtiss said the new law was drafted with input from the Tennessee attorney general's office to make it more resistant to challenges.

So far, nobody has been assessed the new tax. But attorneys are predicting a similar outcome the second time around once the tax agents come knocking.

"I don't think there's any way to make this kind of law constitutional," Colley said.