Slippery Suspects: 2 Men Busted Stealing Grease From Kent Restaurant, Police Say

Carlos Alberto Salas, age 46, and Joan Mendez-Martinez, age 26, both of the Bronx, New York, are facing several charges stemming from the alleged lube job, State Police said.

Troopers in Litchfield County were called to a business park in Kent off Route 7 around 2:45 a.m. on Monday, Sept. 23, after an alarm at a restaurant went off. As they pulled into the scene, a white van was pulling out.

Troopers stopped the van and found Salas and Mendez-Martinez and two 250-gallon drums that were a third full of used cooking oil inside, State Police said.

Salas said he'd been hired to drive the van and wait while Mendez-Martinez went inside restaurants and cleaned the kitchens, authorities said. Mendez-Martinez had a list of 10 area eateries on his phone.

Mendez-Martinez said he was hired by a company out of New York City, but neither could provide documentation to have the grease, authorities said. Troopers went to the restaurant, where the alarm had sounded, and found a grease bin with the seal broken and fresh drippings on the ground.

Police charged both men with second-degree burglary, third-degree criminal mischief, and theft in the sixth degree, authorities said. A judge set their bond at $5,000, and officials seized the van as evidence.

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