ETE Reman in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where a boss allegedly slipped steer wheel fluid in his employee’s drink (Google Maps).
Authorities in Wisconsin arrested a man who allegedly poured steering wheel fluid into one of his employees’ drinks because he was “always talking trash” to him.
Milwaukee cops responded around 3 p.m. on June 5 to ETE Reman, a car transmission manufacturer, for an issue between employees, a criminal complaint obtained by Law&Crime stated. When they arrived, they spoke to the victim, who said that on the day prior, someone slipped an unknown liquid substance into his Arizona iced tea drink. It caused him to become ill and he had to go to an urgent care for treatment, the complaint states.
The alleged victim told police he had arrived at work around 1:45 p.m. and placed two drinks — a fruit punch drink and an Arizona Ginseng Tea — into the freezer in the employee break room. When he later returned to take a swig of the iced tea, he noticed the rim of the bottle was greasy and could smell a strong chemical odor coming from it. He feared it was poison.
The victim showed the drink to a couple of co-workers, including his boss, 60-year-old Steven R. Cox.
Human resources reviewed video of the breakroom and determined Cox was the culprit, the affidavit said. It allegedly showed Cox walking into the breakroom holding two Pure Leaf tea bottles. Cox approached the freezer where the victim put his drink and looked around to see if anyone else was there, the affidavit said.
The video allegedly showed Cox pick up the victim’s iced tea and appear to pour something into it from the Pure Leaf bottle. He then went to the sink and washed out his Pure Leaf bottle before throwing it away, cops said. A human resource manager retrieved the Pure Leaf bottle from the trash and it apparently had the same greasy substance and smell as the victim’s iced tea, police said.
The victim said he’s had issues with Cox in the past but thought they had ironed them out. When the HR person confronted Cox, he denied any involvement but allegedly said the victim was “always glaring at him.”
When officers spoke with Cox, he allegedly admitted to pouring power steering fluid into the victim’s drink. He said he’s “always had an issue” with the victim and heard he was “always trash talking him,” the affidavit states. Cox allegedly described the incident as a “prank.”
Cox was arrested on a charge of placing foreign objects in edibles. He was taken to jail and has since posted bond. Court records say he was assigned a public defender. His next court date is scheduled for June 28.
