New Jersey officials announced the indictment of a dozen government employees on charges of stealing gas from government pumps, reports the Philadelphia Inquirer. Some of the defendants used magnetic swipe cards or fuel keys to steal between a few and several hundred gallons of gas. Thieves across the Philadelphia region are apparently helping themselves to a commodity at record-high prices.
Nationwide, auto-repair shops are reporting thieves drilling into fuel tanks – at the risk of sparking an explosion – along with the more traditional gas-station drive-offs and siphoning. The New Jersey indictments accuse six employees of the City of Camden and the city’s Board of Education of gassing up vehicles for personal use at government pumps. Also charged were six current or former employees of the state Department of Children and Families, and one private citizen.