Woman gets 9 months for rat extortion

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APPLETON, Wis., April 26 (UPI) -- A Wisconsin woman who planted a rat in her food at a restaurant and demanded $500,000 to keep quiet was sentenced to nine months in jail.

Debbie Miller, 43, of Appleton, was sentenced to nine months in jail followed by four years of probation Friday, after she pleaded no contest in Outagamie County Court to a felony charge of extortion and a misdemeanor count of obstructing police, the Appleton Post-Crescent reported Monday.

Miller planted a dead rat in her food at The Seasons restaurant April 17, 2008, and demanded the owners pay her off to keep quiet about the incident.

Defense attorney Edmund Jelinski said the amount of money his client demanded displays her mental problems, which he said originated from years of abuse.

"Five hundred thousand dollars isn't trying to get a quick buck," he said. "Five hundred thousand dollars is a delusion of grandeur."