Grease Thieves are on a Slippery Slope

In recent weeks, we've reported on the many indignities restaurant owners face.  We've seen McDonald's get sued because a lady wanted to pay with her feet.  We've seen drive-thru workers pelted with airborne sodas.  But when they start stealing our grease... it's time to call in the Texas Rangers.

Texas and Oklahoma are the "hotbed of grease thieves."

The Cincinnati Enquirer reports that the rising price of ethanol and increasing popularity of biodiesel fuel have spurred more people to take grease from traps behind restaurants to convert it to biodiesel or sell it on the black market.  (There's a grease black market?) This has led one company to employ a former Texas Ranger and a former Texas cop to track down those slippery characters stealing restaurant grease, which can cost restaurants thousands of dollars per week.

Grease thieves will often sneak behind restaurants at night, break the locks on containers and spill grease everywhere, said Findley, who has worked for Griffin Industries for 16 years. Thieves will often make off with 1,500 pounds of grease in one haul and sell it for between 10 and 15 cents a pound...

Texas and Oklahoma have been the hotbed of grease thieves for most of the past 20 years...

The new breed of grease thieves pose an even more insidious threat.

According to the article:

A new type of grease thief has emerged in recent years. Average people concerned more about fuel efficiency than the street value of grease have been caught pilfering grease traps, Findley said.

Biodiesel conversion kits have encouraged people to steal grease to run their car on it, he said. Many think they are entitled to the grease.

"This is a recent phenomenon. These people are the worst kind of thief," Findley said. "They don't know they are stealing. The Internet is replete with how to make this stuff. They have no idea what they are doing."

But these people can find themselves behind bars with serious theft charges, Findley said.

If you don't steal restaurant grease, don't start.  If do steal grease, it's time to come clean.  You really don't want to be in prison and have to answer when the inmates ask:  "What are you in for?"

Read the whole article:  Restaurant grease thefts increase in number, company says