Man accused of stealing cooking oil

PORTSMOUTH, N.H.—A New Hampshire man is accused of stealing cooking oil from restaurants in Maine.

Police said Michael Berton, 38, of Pelham, was arrested in Ogunquit, Maine, last week with a tanker containing 8,200 gallons of vegetable oil. Police said someone siphoned off leftover cooking oil from restaurants along Route 1 in Maine for more than a month.

Two restaurant workers noticed Berton allegedly emptying the grease tanks one morning.

WMUR reported that Berton worked for Envirotek, a Billerica, Mass.-based biodiesel company that he accused of sending him on a mission to steal. The company said it had no indication of what was happening and that Berton has been fired.

Waste collection businesses are hurting, one of which told police it estimated losses at more than $1,200.