Crime Scenes

Profits Slip as Grease Thefts Rise

Those slimy no good crooks!
Those slimy no good crooks! Photo: iStockPhoto

In what sort of bizarro realm does a down and dirty fried chicken joint in Camden hold more sway than Stephen Starr’s Buddakan? In the shadowy underworld of used cooking oil thievery, of course. We had always assumed that this was more of a West Coast thing, but according to what today’s Inky’s saying, the slimy business is booming in these parts. Seems last week’s news of a bust at the Starr fleet’s Old City crown jewel was just the tip of the slippery iceberg. A sluggish economy, paired with rising gasoline prices and an increase in biodiesel production has made spent fryer grease a hot commodity. A rep from Greenworks Holdings, a group of companies whose stock in trade is used cooking oil, says that the greasy criminal element steals used oil from as many as 1,000 restaurants a month. To combat the rise in thefts and subsequent dip in profits, Greenworks is now installing locks on clients’ oil-collection barrels. [Inquirer]

Earlier: Slimy: Crooks Caught Slipping Off With Stephen Starr’s Used Fryer Oil

Profits Slip as Grease Thefts Rise