Grease Theft Leads to Three Arrests, Police Say

Three men were arrested in Montville after allegedly attempting to steal used cooking oil from two Pine Brook businesses on Oct. 5, according to Montville police Capt. Ed Rosellini.

Omar Juarez, 46, of Newark, Danny Avilez, 34, of Clifton, and Reinaldo Ramirez, 25, of Newark, were charged with two counts each of theft, trespassing and conspiracy to commit theft.

Around 9:30 a.m., a patrol officer stopped a truck leaving Tiffany's Restaurant, on Route 46. The men allegedly admitted taking grease from Tiffany's and earlier that day from Don Pepe restaurant, Rosellini said. The men were arrested and transported to the Montville police station.

This was not the first time theft of used cooking oil was reported from Tiffany's and nearby restaurants and businesses. A 42-year-old Somerset man was charged with theft in May after allegedly attempting to steal grease from Tiffany's and store it in a box truck. In that case, the man allegedly had a pump that he used to extract the oil to later be stored in his truck.

In Wayne, 200 gallons of used cooking oil were reported stolen from the T-Bowl bowling alley on Oct. 12. Wayne police are still working to identify a responsible person or persons, but the bowling alley owner reported the lock to the area that the oil is stored in had been damaged.

Restaurants and businesses store the used oil to be picked up by companies that pay to recycle the material.