The Doritos Locos Tacos manufactured by Taco Bell is arguably the hottest selling thing for junk food fanatics in recent years, with more than 1 billion sold in 14 months.
The Mexican fast-food chain claims that product developers for the chain and Frito Lay came up with the tasty creation, but a new suit against the respective companies claims otherwise.
Cue inmate Gary Cole who is currently detained at high-security federal prison in Florence, Colo. and recently filed a suit in the U.S. District Court in Northern District of Texas on May 15, the Dallas Observer reported.
In a 35-page handwritten complaint, Cole alleges that the companies stole his idea through the mail, the Huffington Post reported.
As proof of his claim, Cole submitted a letter written to an attorney in Sept. 2006 listing products for an imagined company he dubbed "Divas and Ballers," a haphazard mix of alcohol, hot sauces, body oils and "Taco Shells of All Flavors (Made of Doritos)."
When he learned of the release of the Locos Tacos, he wrote to the FBI, IRS and requested information from Taco Bell via the Freedom of Information Act in order to trace who was responsible for hijacking his concept.
He received no response, which is why he is now resorting to a lawsuit where he will represent himself as his requests for an attorney were also denied. A Denver law firm he contacted for help had this to say in response to a letter he sent them, which he did not submit:
Dear Gary:
Thanks for your April 25th letter, which we received on May 3. By now you should have received the taco documents. Hopefully, the stress they caused will be relieved.
Do not "put a knife" to the staff. That won't do you, or us, any good. I understand your frustration, but we're working on the retaliation issue and would ask that you leave it in our hands.
Cole is currently ending a 25-year prison sentence for "delaying interstate commerce, conspiring to do so, and using and carrying a firearm in relation to a crime of violence."
Taco Bell did not immediately respond to reporters for commentary on the suit.
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