NYC pays former fast-food worker $437,000 to settle Big Mac glass case

A former McDonald's Corp worker accused and later cleared of putting glass shards in a police officer's hamburger will be paid a $437,000 settlement by the city of New York, authorities said on Friday.

Albert Garcia, who was working the grill at a McDonald's in the Bronx, was arrested in 2005 after New York Police Officer John Florio accused him of putting broken glass in his Big Mac, Garcia's attorney said.

Then 18, Garcia confessed but later recanted, saying his admission was forced, attorney Raymond Aab said on the website of his law firm Koehler & Isaacs.

Garcia was acquitted of all charges stemming from the case in 2010, and he sued the city and the officer, Aab said.

"The settlement was considered to be in the best interest of the parties," a spokeswoman for the city's Law Department said. She did not provide further details.

Garcia's attorney said he thought the city made the right move.

"If this case went before a jury, the city could stand to lose a lot more money," Aab said.

He said evidence in the case suggested Florio concocted the broken glass story to win money from McDonald's. The officer sued McDonald's for $6 million but settled for $15,000, Aab said.

Neither Florio's former attorney, Richard Kenny, nor a representative of McDonald's could immediately be reached for comment.

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Big Mac, McDonalds Corp, New York

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