Sonoran-hot-dog war heats up in Tucson; $600,000 extortion bid charged
A food-cart rival tried this week to extort $600,000 from the local godfather of the Sonoran hot dog, El Güero Canelo, federal prosecutors said.
Early Thursday morning, FBI agents arrested Eduardo A. Sabori, who owns a hot-dog stand near East 22nd Street and South Pantano Road, after he picked up a duffel bag in a nearby trash bin, prosecutors said in a criminal complaint. Agents had placed the bag in the bin as a ruse to catch the suspected extortionist.
Sabori appeared in federal court Thursday and is charged with interfering with commerce by threats or violence.
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At Contreras’ original, South 12th Avenue, restaurant Friday, employees slung hot dogs for a thin summer crowd. One of the customers, 26-year-old Ricardo Rivera, noted that sort of crime doesn’t work so well north of the border.
“This guy should be on world’s dumbest criminals,” Rivera said while munching a carne-asada sandwich.
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As @borderreporter Tweeted, “Tucson man charged, with extorting the owner of Guero Canelo restaurants in Tucson. Hint: don’t extort a business where Feds eat every day”
Eduardo Sabori, at his Mr. Antojo business on North Park Avenue, has been charged with trying to extort $600,000 from his Sonoran hot-dog rival Daniel Contreras.