Man Rigs Van to Steal Nearly 400 Gallons of Gas
- Posted on July 1, 2011 at 2:49pm by
Jonathon M. Seidl
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I guess it’s the sign of these economic times. Or maybe the sad reality of man’s nature. Or, maybe it’s just ingenuity.
A Los Angeles man has been arrested after he was caught stealing nearly 400 gallons of gas from a local gas station. But it’s how he did it that’s drawing so much attention. Pictures show the man had converted his van into an elaborate gas-stealing machine. KTLA-TV reports:
Surveillance video shows the suspect park a large white van above an underground fuel container at a gas station and using a converted vacuum system to extricate the gasoline.
The video also shows the suspect pop the hood of the truck as a decoy, police said.
Police say the inside of the van was gutted and fitted with an intricate system of tubes and hoses hooked up to an air conditioning pump and a 60-gallon barrel.
According to Fox News, the crook has been doing this “for years:”
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Comments (45)
Bodine
Posted on July 2, 2011 at 9:39amCreative yes!,, but if he were a true genius he just would have gone into the van conversion business through craigslist and let everyone else get in deep $^%$ for theft..
A capitalist would have just drawn up the plans and sold them on the internet for 29.95 non-refundable… cant go to jail for selling plans showing another person how to mount a 55 gal drum in their old van,, can ya?
Report Post »USMarine0311
Posted on July 2, 2011 at 9:38amI blame Obama
Report Post »DasAmerican
Posted on July 2, 2011 at 9:06amToo bad he didnt use a 4dollar can of spraypaint and disable the cameras:P
Report Post »Charles
Posted on July 2, 2011 at 8:40amDesperate times require theft? Really? Is it somehow ok since hes stealing from the “evil big oil” ??
Report Post »And now its “necessary” to steal?
oldoldtimer
Posted on July 2, 2011 at 9:33amIn case you have not noticed they are stealing from us. Ethonol is a scam. It raises consu,ption, costs maore, is more polluting and worst of all it allows watering of the gas. 10% ethonol is 12.4 ounces. to this can be added up to 6 ounces of water. That is a almsot a gallon of water to every 20 gal of gas. That is an extra $4 profit. In some cases even more water can be added right up to the saturation point. Why are we allowing a runaway gov’t continue to force this scam on us just so a few agribiz can make windfall profits from corn farming and conversion to subsidized ethonol? Because we are stupid. My vehicle gets 22 highway with ethonol/gas. It gets 26.5 the same trip if I can find and use 100% gas. You do the math.
Report Post »Gypsy123
Posted on July 2, 2011 at 6:43amLooks like he has gone into the government business stealing
Report Post »Moment of Clarity
Posted on July 2, 2011 at 4:55amah yes – American ingenuity …
Report Post »proantisocialist
Posted on July 2, 2011 at 4:52amnecessity is the mother of all invention…
Report Post »Tortilla
Posted on July 2, 2011 at 1:54amHope he has all that gas hidden away well. By the time he gets out of prison that gas will be worth millions! Hmm….maybe I should invest in gasoline.
Report Post »South Philly Boy
Posted on July 2, 2011 at 12:59amWow, just wait when gas is $10.00 a gallon
Report Post »slvrserfr
Posted on July 2, 2011 at 12:55amI remembered seeing something like this as an example of someone doing this with a shop-vac in a show called ‘1000 ways to die’. Rather than manually siphoning with the mouth, they used a shop vac which combusted the gas vapor and it basically caused an explosion which killed both people involved.
Report Post »capitalismrocks
Posted on July 2, 2011 at 12:37amHey…. you gotta give the guy credit for his ingenuity… illegal, but ingenius
Report Post »concealled9mms
Posted on July 1, 2011 at 11:23pmthis guy should run for congress
Report Post »Delores at CH WV
Posted on July 2, 2011 at 1:40amHe is too smart to join those folks down at the Capitol……….This is clearly a man with vision for the future or is our future already here? American will always dream up a solution s to the unemployment issues….you have to give him at least a few points to think and act. He should have put this van to legal use: wow! instant money for his patent. Now, he has to live in a cell. Hope he learns to dream up more of these new inventions and his finds his moral conscience.
Report Post »ashestoashes
Posted on July 1, 2011 at 11:18pmThe Bible says “Thou Shalt Not Steal” But in this case, who’s the flippin thief? I‘d say we’re all getting raped by Islam and by the prez. ….excuse me…I didn’t meant to sound redundent on that last statement
Report Post »Divothead
Posted on July 1, 2011 at 10:45pm@ MIKEDOES-
I stole that book!
Report Post »mikedoes
Posted on July 1, 2011 at 10:53pmConfession is good for the soul. Glenn Beck would be happy for you.
Report Post »mike119
Posted on July 1, 2011 at 10:43pmi smell aninsuance claim…. an air conditioner pump is going to pull gas up from at least 15 foot down at a rate of 400 gallons in 20 minutes..NOT and 400 gallons is 2430 lb and 8 full 55 gallon drums in a van . i owen a diesel truck with a n 80 gal tank and it takes at least 10 minutes to pump 60 gallon from the stations pump. this bull $#@t story is all about WOW DID YOU HEAR ABOUT….i want to be this guys lawyer.
Report Post »Pastor Ray
Posted on July 2, 2011 at 7:59amIt’s good that someone knows something about pumping out there cause peole today are so dumb!
Report Post »The max lift on a pump is 27 feet without a foot valve…But if you drop the pump into the liquid you’re trying to pump you can push it up a long, LONG ways! Ask any Volenteer Fireman…It’s part of his training!!!
DadInFishers
Posted on July 2, 2011 at 10:18am@Mike119
Um, he wasn’t stealing 400 gallons each time. He had a 60 gallon barrel in his van so was stealing 60 gallons or less each time. The story pretty clearly explained he had been doing this for a while. It’s simple math. Steal 50 gallons 8 times = 400 gallons.
Report Post »mike119
Posted on July 2, 2011 at 1:14pmthien this guy needs a bigger pump and hose and van = bigger payload = less time less risk …. if your going to go down go down in flames. i thought of this a long time ago just didnt have the stones to do it. i was thinking tanker truck.. who would question a tanker truck filling the tanks?? but in reverse!!!!
Report Post »Sam
Posted on July 1, 2011 at 10:31pmStealing is wrong and I am glad he was caught. But… why were the caps left unsecured? Did they really expect that nobody would steal if they left the door open?
Report Post »Asmodeus13
Posted on July 1, 2011 at 10:22pmThis is how it is going to be for a while in this country, all I can say is get used to it, and secure the fuel in you own vehicle…
Report Post »ThomasUSA
Posted on July 1, 2011 at 10:22pmnow he can use those talents to make a better license plate.. Lucky he did not get someone killed.
Report Post »mikedoes
Posted on July 1, 2011 at 9:51pmAbbie Hoffman, who co-founded the “Yippies”, wrote a book around 1967. The title is “Steal This Book” and he meant it. The first sentence encourages you to steal the book.
The book was a guide to “rip off the man” live by stealing what you need.
Stealing gas was simple.
One van, every true “Yippie” had one. A 55 gallon drum and a electric pump. Simply drive over and park where the underground tanks are filled. Open the trap door on the van’s floor, remove the cover to the tank and drop a hose down.
Report Post »TomFerrari
Posted on July 1, 2011 at 11:00pmsounds familiar.
Report Post »MisterB
Posted on July 1, 2011 at 9:33pmA clever thief is still a thief.
400 gallons of gas X $4.00 a gallon is $1600.00 each van load. That is a hard hit for any small business. I hope he gets some serious time for that.
Report Post »jrooster13
Posted on July 1, 2011 at 9:20pmwow!
Report Post »So… big van, air conditioning pump, rubber tubing / hoses, 60 Gal barrel and better timing than this guy had… got it.
I’d type more but i have to go shopping.
I Razor I
Posted on July 1, 2011 at 9:18pmOh good…they posted this story on the internet, bring on the copycats…
Report Post »TeaParty_InTheSky
Posted on July 1, 2011 at 9:13pmits a shame he didnt use his brain for a better purpose.
Report Post »LS1XJ
Posted on July 1, 2011 at 8:54pmi cant say im shocked, with gas out west still over 4 bucks a gallon i would say i am more shocked more people are not doing it.
Report Post »skiziks20453
Posted on July 2, 2011 at 5:16amlol, or getting caught.. ooops..
Report Post »Workforit
Posted on July 1, 2011 at 8:53pmWow… It is wrong, but it all most makes a guy want to smile…Talent comes in many shapes and forms…If there is a will there is a way!
Now if we could just get this guy to apply his creative abilities into figuring a way to create a new energy source…
Report Post »19RANDY59
Posted on July 1, 2011 at 10:22pmI can’t believe nobody got suspicious about a van parked out in the middle of a parking lot for twenty minutes. Wake up attendant!!
Report Post »banjarmon
Posted on July 1, 2011 at 11:31pmWas he UNION Trained??
Report Post »fastfacts
Posted on July 2, 2011 at 12:52amTHIS IS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN OBAMA’S ECONOMY GOES SOUR
I look to 2013 for actual recovery, which will only come if we get the right person to govern the greatest country. We need someone with experience and high principles and every candidate in the race today is leagues better than Obama.
Here is Herman Cain‘s new ad taking on Obama’s lack of leadership: http://tiny.cc/48a8n
Report Post »Here is Mitt Romney‘s new ad taking on Obama’s lack of economical experience: http://tiny.cc/g91r7