Phony ‘restaurant manager’ makes himself a cheeseburger and gets arrested

A man who pretended to be a restaurant manager to make himself a cheeseburger and fries at an outlet of Denny’s has been arrested.

James B Summers literally cooked up a huge lie by telling restaurant staff in a Wisconsin branch of the popular burger chain that he had just been appointed as their new manager.

While the hungry 52-year-old prepared his meal, an already suspicious worker tried to contact senior management.

A police report read: “While on the phone, she waved off kitchen staff as they rapped on her door, trying to get her attention. She was not to be interrupted while talking with corporate.

“What cook staff wanted her to know was that the new 'GM' (general manager) was in the process of cooking himself up a cheeseburger and fries, and that he had gotten himself a soda.”


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On discovering that her strange new colleague was a fraud, she called the police. But the phony manager, who was feasting on his food, protested his innocence.

After officers arrived on the scene, they confronted the man and found a stun gun on his belt beneath his trench coat and suit jacket, along with what appeared to be two crack pipes.


The report added: “He was cooperative with the officer, but as he was about to be led from the restaurant, he yelled out to those eating: ‘This is why you don’t dine and dash kiddies’.”

Madison police arrested the local man on charges of fraud, possession of an electric weapon, disorderly conduct and possession of drug paraphernalia.


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Unfortunately for Mr Summers, he had only eaten three quarters of his food before he was eventually exposed, according to police.