REDDING, Calif. -- Redding, Calif. police say a grease rustler was caught in the act Monday morning, siphoning used kitchen oil from a tank owned by a rival firm.
Joshua Lee Phelps, 27, was detained, cited on suspicion of petty theft, and released after a driver from North State Rendering Co. spotted him sucking grease from one of the Chico, Calif. company's tanks behind a restaurant, Cpl. Eric Niver said.
But Phelps' employer said the incident was "a big fat misunderstanding" and nothing more than strong-arm tactics by rival North State Rendering in an effort to quash new competition. The pickup Phelps was driving was equipped with a pump, tank and hose small enough to suck the grease through the theft-prevention grates on North State's tanks, Ottone said. |