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Two arrested for allegedly stealing more than $1K in cooking oil from Attleboro restaurant

Two New York men were arrested for allegedly siphoning used oil from a tank behind Koi, a Chinese restaurant in Attleboro. The oil can be sold for use in biodiesel engines.

December 19, 2023

2 minutes to read

Two men were arrested after allegedly attempting to steal more than $1,000 in used cooking oil from a Chinese restaurant in Attleboro.

Steven Almanzar and Carlos Montes Santiago, both residents of Yonkers, New York, face charges of breaking into a depository, possession of burglar’s tools, receiving stolen property, larceny, and conspiracy, according to court records. Both pleaded not guilty and were released on personal recognizance.

Just after 5:30 a.m. on Dec. 15, an Attleboro police officer was dispatched to Koi Chinese Cuisine & Lounge on Washington Street. They were told that a white van had pulled into the restaurant’s parking lot, turned its headlights off, and backed up to the rear of the building, according to an affidavit filed in Attleboro District Court.

The van was found about three feet from the restaurant’s waste oil storage tank, with a back door open. Almanzar and Montes Santiago were found standing by the back of the van, loading a hose into the vehicle and then shutting the back door. The cover of the waste oil tank was flipped open, and a hose attachment sat on the edge of the tank, according to the affidavit. About four hours earlier, police had done a check of the restaurant and saw that the waste oil tank was closed.

Almanzar and Montes Santiago were asked what was going on, and they reportedly told the officer that they had been driving around and were going to pump the oil from the tank. The officer asked if they had a contract to do so, or any other sort of permission, and Almanzar said that they did not, according to court records.

Three other Attleboro officers arrived at the scene. Almanzar and Montes Santiago were read their Miranda rights and detained. Police found that Almanzar was wanted on a default warrant out of Shrewsbury and that Montes Santiago was wanted on a straight warrant out of Westford. They were then arrested.

Inside the white van, police found two 500-gallon tanks. One was completely full of oil, and the second was partially full. A green hose and a transfer pump were also found inside the van. The hose was actively dripping oil, and there was oil residue on the floor of the van around the pump, according to the affidavit.

Attleboro police believe there was about 750 gallons of old cooking oil in the two containers combined. Oil like this is generally resold for about $7 a gallon, putting the estimated value of this oil at $5,200, according to the affidavit.

Similar incidents have been reported across the country. Earlier this year, police in Long Island told local news station PIX11 that they had likely seen more than 100 such cases in their county by April. Used cooking oil can be recycled and sold for use in biodiesel engines. In October, hundreds of gallons of oil were stolen from a Chick-fil-A in Georgia. A manager at the restaurant told police that it was the fourth time such a heist had happened there, according to local news station WSBTV.