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12/22/2006Newsmakers 2006Local man attempted extortion with burrito scam
Ryan Goff, 20, sat in the 86th District Court appearing amused as he was arraigned on a felony charge of attempted extortion. TRAVERSE CITY — Ryan Daniel Goff bit off a little more than he could chew. The Traverse City man attempted to extort money from a local Taco Bell when he stuffed a mouse in a burrito and now is serving a 16- to 30-month sentence in a downstate prison. Goff, 21, was busted in the bogus burrito scam after his girlfriend ratted him out to police. She told officers Goff purchased frozen mice from a pet store and she watched him stuff one of the rodents in his burrito. Goff is behind bars at Gus Harrison Correctional Facility in Adrian for attempted false pretenses between $1,000 and $20,000. He is serving that sentence concurrent with an unrelated larceny charge. "When it comes to life I have been so blinded,” Goff told Circuit Court Judge Philip Rodgers at his sentencing in June. "My decisions aren't right.” Goff was at the Taco Bell at Chum's Corner on Jan. 24 when he told an employee his burrito tasted funny. Goff would not take a replacement burrito offered by an employee and insisted on keeping his when he left the restaurant, police said. He then called Robert Buckle, Taco Bell's regional manager and told him he wanted "something that would make his ears tingle” to resolve the issue. Buckle called the sheriff's department and told Detective Paul Gomez that Goff threatened to go to the media with his mouse tale. Goff also took his furry concoction to a local veterinarian and the county health department, where he repeatedly talked of how much money "the lady got from McDonalds” after she spilled hot coffee on herself, police said. Goff was arrested and charged after detectives interviewed his girlfriend, who told them he bought frozen mice from a pet store before going to Taco Bell. When she asked why, he told her "to get rich quick,” records show. Goff originally was charged with attempted extortion, a five-year felony, but he later pleaded guilty and was convicted of a lesser charge because he was "not too bright” and the restaurant suffered little harm, Rodgers said. "It was done so poorly you were given a plea to a much lesser charge,” Rodgers said at his sentencing. "This type of behavior, though not well-thought-out, exhibits a callous indifference to others.” See related stories:
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