Dover man pleads guilty to putting razor blades in pizza dough
Jun. 25—A Dover man has pleaded guilty to a federal tampering charge for putting razor blades in pizza dough sold at Hannaford stores in Maine and New Hampshire last year.
Nicholas Mitchel pleaded guilty in federal court Thursday to one count of tampering with a consumer product.
A plea agreement stipulates Mitchell's sentence is capped at 4 years and 9 months for one count of tampering with a consumer product.
According to court documents, Mitchell, 39, was arrested in October 2020 after police in Saco, Maine, and Sanford, Maine, and Dover, began investigating reports that customers had found razor blades and metal fragments in Portland Pie Co. pizza dough sold at Hannaford supermarkets. There were no reports of injuries or illnesses from the tampering.
Hannaford issued a recall of the dough at stores in five states.
In March, Mitchell pleaded not guilty to two federal charges of tampering with a consumer product, but later agreed to plead guilty to one count and accept a sentence of up to four years and nine months in prison.
Mitchell will be sentenced at a later date.
