Sonoran-hot-dog war heats up in Tucson; $600,000 extortion bid charged

Early Thursday morning, FBI agents arrested Eduardo A. Sabori, who owns a hot-dog stand near East 22nd Street and South Pantano Road, after he picked up a duffel bag in a nearby trash bin, prosecutors said in a criminal complaint. Agents had placed the bag in the bin as a ruse to catch the suspected extortionist.

Sabori appeared in federal court Thursday and is charged with interfering with commerce by threats or violence.

He is scheduled for a detention hearing Monday.

El Güero Canelo, whose real name is Daniel Contreras, has become famous for his Sonoran hot dogs - franks wrapped in bacon, topped with beans, onions, tomatoes, mustard, mayo and jalapeño sauce. Contreras has helped popularize the dogs beyond Latino customers on the south side and has been recognized in The New York Times, in Bon Appetit magazine on "CBS Sunday Morning" and on the Travel Channel's "Food Wars" show.

In fact, federal prosecutors and agents can frequently be seen eating at El Güero Canelo's sites at 5201 S. 12th Ave. and 2480 N. Oracle Road.

A relative newcomer among hotdogueros, Sabori, 35, has quickly made a name among Tucson vendors. His Sonoran hot dogs were given an honorable-mention in last year's Arizona Daily Star taste-test of local Sonoran dogs, beating El Güero Canelo's, which didn't place among the 13 tested.

Sabori, originally from Hermosillo, also owns Mr. Antojo, a hot-dog and carne-asada business located at Jett's Wildcat convenience store, 501 N. Park Ave.

On June 12, Contreras opened his third El Güero Canelo location, at 5802 E. 22nd St., about 2 1/2 miles west of Sabori's East 22nd Street location.

A month later, on July 9, Con-treras received a letter telling him to deliver $600,000 at a specified time to a commercial trash bin near the Hampton Inn, 251 S. Wilmot Road, says a sworn statement by FBI agent Larry D. Savill. A threat of violence was included, along with a map showing where to put the money, Savill said.

In subsequent days, additional letters appeared, Savill said in his statement. One instructed Con-treras to put a white flag on a business van parked at his East 22nd Street location to signal his agreement to pay the money. On Tuesday, Savill said, a letter threatened that if Contreras failed to pay, somebody could die.

At 12:01 Thursday morning, FBI agents delivered a weighted duffel bag to the indicated trash bin, Savill said. Six minutes later Sabori picked up the bag, and agents arrested him.

Sabori admitted, Savill said, that "he planned, wrote and delivered the above three referenced letters with the intent to intimidate and threaten (Contreras) into paying $600,000."

At Contreras' original, South 12th Avenue, restaurant Friday, employees slung hot dogs for a thin summer crowd. One of the customers, 26-year-old Ricardo Rivera, noted that sort of crime doesn't work so well north of the border.

"This guy should be on world's dumbest criminals," Rivera said while munching a carne-asada sandwich.

On signs and on the Internet, Sabori describes his franks as "Real Sonora Hot Dogs." But in last year's taste-test, he was forced to defend his use of nacho cheese, saying he gets the cheese from Hermosillo.

"That's the kind of cheese they use over there," he told a Star reporter.

El Güero Canelo also was part of Tucson's original Sonoran hot-dog rivalry. Contreras started selling Sonoran dogs on South 12th Avenue in 1993 alongside his friend, Benjamin Galaz, each owning their own food cart. But the friendship soured, and a rivalry grew as both of them set up permanent stores across the street from each other. Galaz owns BK Carne Asada & Hot Dogs.

The two business were even featured last year on "Food Wars," a Travel Channel Show that pits competing food vendors against each other. At the time of the filming in April 2010, Sabori had just obtained one city business license, for his North Park Avenue Mr. Antojo site, and was a couple of months away from applying for a license for his East 22nd Street site.

Contact reporter Tim Steller at 807-8427 or tsteller@azstarnet.com