Crime & Safety
Almost 500 Gallons of Gas Stolen From Tinley Park Station
Audits by the owner of the Shell service station Harlem Avenue revealed that almost 200 gallons was taken daily from the same pump over a 3-day period, according to police reports.
About 500 gallons of premium gasoline was reported stolen last week from a Harlem Avenue station, according to police reports.
The owner of the Shell service station at 17101 S. Harlem Ave., called Tinley Park police Dec. 21, after audits on one of the pumps over three days showed 470 gallons of premium gasoline was missing, the police report stated.
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The audits were done from Dec. 19 to 21, and the amount of unaccounted for gallons increased from 170 to 370 to 470 gallons over that span, the report added.
According to the police report, the owner suspects a scheme involving gift cards and pump tampering, a scam that's common among Chicago gas stations. Individuals use gift cards that don't identify them—sometimes with amounts as low as $2—to access a pump, then rig the pump in such a way that allows them to siphon as much gas as possible, the report stated.
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If an employee were to check the pump from inside the station during that time, he or she would think only the amount of gallons equal to the dollar amount of the gift card was being pumped, the report added.
Surveillance footage did not show anyone who looked like they were pumping large amounts of gas from the identified pump, the report said.
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