An Illinois man was booked into Santa Clara County Jail late Tuesday afternoon when he was allegedly spotted removing the grease from the grease trap at a local restaurant, reportedly to convert into biodiesel fuel.
David Richardson, 49, was spotted by the owner of San Jose Tallow, Mark Rosenzweig, who was in the area because he was aware that the grease theft had been occurring in the area, according to Morgan Hill police Cmdr. David Swing.
Rosenzweig saw Richardson in the area of a business he has a contract with in a three-axle, 5,000 gallon truck similar to the kinds used to empty out porta-potties, and followed Richardson to the Burger King restaurant on Monterey Road. There he watched Richardson siphon the inedible grease into his truck.
Police were called at approximately 2:40 p.m. by the manager of the Burger King, who had approached Richardson and was handed a blank service contract by him.
Rosenzweig also phoned when he reportedly saw Richardson using a hose and a pump on the truck to remove the grease from an outside outlet.
"The tank of the truck was half-full," Swing said, "so it appears that he may have been taking grease from other places."
Officers discovered that Richardson works for a Las Vegas, Nev., company called Restaurant Oils of America. Swing said the company is not registered to do business in California with the California Department of Food and Agriculture, so Richardson could face charges of stealing or misappropriating inedible grease, unlawful transport of grease, grand theft and other charges.
The owner of the company, Ned Cruey, told police Richardson was instructed to drive to Atascadero to drop off the grease at a recycling facility that pays $1.35 per gallon compared to the $.80 a gallon he receives in Las Vegas.
The estimated value of the 300 gallons of grease is $405, Swing said.
Richardson may have been in the South County area for several days. A CHP officer reported seeing the truck in the area on Monday, and Rosenzweig said he has clients all over the area and has noticed when making regular visits to locations that the grease traps at some places are empty or lower than they should be.
"It's a commodity now, with biodiesal fuel," he said. "Wholesale prices have tripled over last year. Back in '97 or '98, you couldn't get rid of the stuff, but now it's a valuable commodity."
The grease is converted through a special process to usable biodiesal fuel. Swing said there may be some environmental issues if Richardson was using the grease himself to make the fuel and improperly disposing of the waste left after the process.
Fast food restaurants pay a company like San Jose Tallow to come take away the cooking grease building up in their restaurants. The victim of this crime, Swing said, is the company that provides that service.
Marilyn Dubil covers education and law enforcement for The Times. Reach her at (408) 779-4106 ext. 202 or at mdubil@morganhilltimes.com.
Marilyn Dubil Marilyn Dubil covered education and law enforcement for The Times.
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