Man who put razor blades in pizza dough sentenced to prison

The offending came after Mitchell's life spiralled out of control. Photo / 123RF

A US man accused of putting razor blades and screws in pizza dough at supermarkets in Maine and New Hampshire has been sentenced to four years and nine months in federal prison.

The sentencing of Nicholas Mitchell, 39, of Dover, New Hampshire, followed an agreement with prosecutors in which he pleaded guilty in June to one of two counts of tampering with a consumer product.

He also must pay nearly US$230,000 ($337,000) in restitution to Hannaford Supermarkets.

The hearing proceeded even though Mitchell was recovering from a recent bout of Covid-19 contracted in jail.

Mitchell was arrested in October 2020 after razor blades were found in pizza dough sold at a Hannaford store in Saco.

Three customers bought the tainted product in Saco and discovered the blades hidden in the dough, prosecutors said.

Nicholas Mitchell. Photo / Dover Police Department via AP

Product tampering also occurred at Hannaford stores in Sanford, Maine and Dover, New Hampshire, prompting investigations by police department in those communities, as well.

NECN news reported that Mitchell's offending came after his life spiralled out of control in the early days of the Covid pandemic.

Mitchell was a former employee of It'll Be Pizza, a Maine company that produced several brands of dough, including the Portland Pie Co dough that was allegedly tampered with.

Court documents show that things began to go wrong for Mitchell when his girlfriend lost her hairdressing business, with Mitchell later being arrested following a domestic disturbance, which left him homeless and sleeping in his car.

He later found himself fired from his job at It'll Be Pizza.

The judge told him the nature of the crime spread fear in the community and Mitchell tearfully apologised for his actions.

- Associated Press, additional reporting from NZ Herald