izzo's files civil RICO charges against rouses over burrito recipe

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Izzo’s RICO argument, according to its lawsuit, is threefold:

Rouses, in 2011, allegedly tried to bribe an Izzo’s restaurant manager into going to work for Rouses so the supermarket could steal his Izzo’s recipe book and establish burrito bars, similar to Izzo’s, in their stores.

It also alleges wire fraud, claiming Rouses conspired to keep Izzo’s out of shopping center developments—specifically Juban Crossing—where Rouses was an anchor tenant. The suit claims Rouses’ executives told leasing agents for Juban Crossing in phone calls that Izzo’s “sold ‘substandard’ products and was ‘litigious’” in an effort to keep Izzo’s out of the Denham Springs retail development.

Rouses allegedly continues to use Izzo’s trademark recipes at its own burrito bars.

“As detailed above, Rouses conspired to commit three RICO violations against Izzo’s,” court documents claim. “These violations began in 2011 and are ongoing … Rouses Enterprises, LLC is a RICO enterprise affecting interstate commerce.”

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