Kitchen grease fuels a wave of fry crooks

The biodiesel boom is turning into an unanticipated boon for a far-from-green portion of the population -- petty thieves, who are trading in the used cooking oil.

Cooking oil rustling is such a problem that the owners of the Olympia Pizza and Pasta Restaurant in Arlington are considering using a surveillance camera to keep watch on its 50-gallon grease barrel.

Nick Damianidis, an owner, said the barrel had been hit seven or eight times since last summer by siphoners who strike in the night.

"Fryer grease has become gold," Damianidis said. "And just over a year ago, I had to pay someone to take it away."

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