Americana: The Glory of Grease

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Even more slippery than Michigan's horse thieves, surely, are the Los Angeles truck drivers who swipe 55-gal. drums of used grease—about $25,000 worth each week—from local restaurants and drive-ins. The goo, worth $40 per bbl., is valuable because it is reprocessed into a food additive that causes cattle and poultry to gain weight. The thieves have oozed up across the nation, but most actively in Southern California, the fastness of fast food. Sometimes posing as legitimate grease collectors, they have cut chains placed on the outdoor grease barrels, smashed through protective iron gates, and driven over chain fences. Police are not doing much about cleaning up the grease mess. Says Alan Cohen, president of the Reliable Grease Co.: "The police tell us they've got the Los Angeles Strangler to worry about." Besides, unless the criminals were caught in the act, they would prove difficult to prosecute. Asks one police official: "How do you identify hot grease?"