Used Cooking Oil Being Stolen From Local Restaurants

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David Gentile

Not all that long ago, restaurants had to pay to have used cooking oil hauled away. But with a rising demand for biofuel, it's become a valuable commodity. Companies like Valley Proteins pay 45 cents a pound, sending out tanker trucks for periodic pick-ups. But thieves are sending out tanker trucks, too, or barrels in the back of a van, according to a private investigator. He warned Northampton County police chiefs, at their June 6 meeting, that these thefts are occurring here in the Lehigh Valley. While most of the theft is coming from Valley Protein competitors, the Philadelphia Joint Terrorism Task Force is still concerned.

David Gentile, a private investigator and former FBI agent hired by Valley Proteins, provided police chiefs with a list of local restaurants that have empty tanks. Because these thefts occur in the middle of the night, most establishments are unaware of them. But from the Yu Garden to the Olive Garden, the tanks are dry. In fact, that's what Valley Proteins tankers have discovered at 24 Northampton County restaurants, from downtown Bethlehem to Bath.

According to the Joint Terrorism Task Force, used cooking oil has been converted to bio diesel and mixed with fertilizer to create explosives.

In March, Solebury Towsnship police arrested Mohamed Brahmi and Khalil Hamayel for the theft of a large amount of used cooking oil from a Bucks county restaurant. They were transporting the material in a 2003 Ford Econoline. That case is still pending.

An Allentown FBI agent, who attended the meeting, stated this kind of theft has become a "national problem."