4 Cases of Pop in Chicago's Convention Center, $354

Thanks to Anne Leary for the heads up on this one. Here's what WLS TV reported:

Plastics News sent ABC7 a recent letter from an exhibitor at the NPE convention at McCormick Place in June. The exhibitor ordered four cases of pop for his booth. The bill totaled $354.39. Here's the breakdown:
# $254 for the Pepsi products,
# a 21% service charge,
# 10.25% state sales tax,
# 3% Chicago soft drink tax,
# a tax on the service charge and a food and beverage tax.
# Government taxes, the exhibitor said, totaled $38.06.

"Now, a nice man in a tuxedo delivered the Pepsi, along with a couple of buckets of ice and a few cups," wrote Tim Hanrahan, CEO of Erema North America. "Good service? Sure, but not worth $345.39."

The four cases of pop could have been purchased for roughly $30 at a local grocery store.

That's the Chicago Way of extortion.