The list of victims of the region’s latest crime wave is more like a menu. Taco Bell. Russell’s.
Lucia’s on the Lake. Doc Sullivan’s. And on one day alone, seven restaurants on Transit Road.
But in every case, the thieves were not looking for money. What they wanted – and what they got – was used cooking oil. What sounds like a laughing matter is anything but, putting the lives of restaurant employees in danger and costing one local business that collects the material an estimated $45 million over the past two years.
Worse, law enforcement has been unable or unwilling to put a dent in the criminal enterprise that officials say has become a money-maker for organized crime. “There’s not much we can do at this point here,” said Sumit Majumdar, the president and CEO of Buffalo Biodiesel. “We’re getting destroyed.
” Zachary Mezaros, a vac driver with Buffalo Biodiesel, empties a container of used cooking oil into his truck outside of Russell’s Steaks, Chops, & More on Nov. 1. Organized crime is profiting from the theft of used cooking oil.
Founded in 2005 and headquartered in the city, Buffalo Biodiesel collects used cooking oil from 25,000 restaurants across 15 states, Majumdar said. The company turns what used to be a waste product into feedstock for biofuel production at its Tonawanda plant. From Jan.
1 through Oct. 28, Buffalo Biodiesel recorded 2,910 oil thefts, according to records the company shared with The Buffalo News. The thefts occurred in New .
