WEST PALM BEACH - Authorities Tuesday reported breaking up a black market ring they said has been selling stolen fuel at half price from a truck in an alley behind a bakery for three years.
Palm Beach sheriff's officials said Israel Antonio Ramos, 48, was stealing 600 gallons of diesel a day from his employer, then setting up a service station in the alley.
Sheriff's Lt. Bruce Shields said truck drivers lined up every morning by 5:30 a.m. to take advantage of the half-price fuel, pumped from a tank on Ramos' truck. As the truckers left the alley Tuesday morning, authorities arrested Ramos and four other drivers and seized 12 trucks.
"They were spending 40, maybe 60 cents a gallon for fuel," Shields said. "With the way fuel costs are today, it's probably happening elsewhere."
John Cheatham, who owns J.W. Cheatham, a company that delivers fuel to work sites, alerted authorities a few weeks ago about a possible fuel theft. The Palm Beach Sheriff's Office, Internal Revenue Service and other agencies tracked down the operation.
Ramos, accused of stealing fuel he was supposed to be delivering to construction vehicles at job sites, was charged with grand theft and dealing in stolen property. Four other men were charged with dealing in stolen property. Shields said the stolen fuel may have cost J.W. Cheatham more than $60,000 a year.
The men also face IRS penalties because the fuel was tax exempt, reserved for use in farming and construction - not roadways.
