041141 McDonald's Settles with NJ Victim's Family

Camden, NJ - McDonald's Corp. will pay additional money to the family of one of three women killed when a car crashed into a Mount Ephraim restaurant in 2002.

The family of Cynthia Molino, a newly promoted manager at the restaurant, had sued the fast-food giant for death benefits.

The company, which owns the restaurant, had refused to pay her family a manager's death benefits because Molino had not completed a 90-day probationary period in her new job as a manager. The company said the two years she worked as a crew member did not entitle her to such benefits.

McDonald's in June donated a combined $75,000 to the families of the three victims. The other two victims were crew members.

The court papers for the settlement with Molino's family, approved last month by a U.S. District judge, did not include the additional amount the company would pay.

Two of Molino's children say that the amount was $25,000. The family had sought the equivalent of two years' pay, or about $40,000.

Molino's husband, Louis Molino, said the settlement barred him from talking about the compromise other than to say an "amicable settlement" had been reached.

With the settlement, the legal fallout over the May 15, 2002, crash appears to be nearly over.

Frank R. Nastasi, the man who crashed his Cadillac through the restaurant at a speed authorities said may have topped 100 mph pleaded guilty in September to vehicular homicide.

According to his plea bargain, he'll serve 10 years in state prison. Sentencing is scheduled for January.

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