Free Republic

Ishara Sweeney couldn’t put her finger on it, but something was odd about the gas pump at the Santa Rosa Chevron station. The hose seemed out of place and the numbers began moving before she squeezed the handle. They stopped suddenly at $36.36 but she didn’t hear a click sound. Sweeney was further baffled when she got back into her Toyota Corolla after believing she had fueled up and saw the needle hadn’t moved on her gas gauge. It wasn’t until a knowing attendant arrived that she learned she was the victim of a scam. “I felt pretty dumb,” said...

A thief broke into a cemetery Thursday night and drained a 250-gallon fuel tank expecting gasoline but instead left with about 200 gallons of water, police said. "I like it. It's a good one," said DeLand police Sgt. John Anderson of the incident. According to a police report, 225 gallons of gasoline used to operate maintenance equipment was reported stolen in July from DeLand Memorial Gardens, 600 E. Beresford Ave. Maintenance supervisor Howard Shepard told police after the theft he stopped storing gasoline in the tank and used it instead to hold water. On Thursday night, police suspect the same...

BALTIMORE (AP) -- A man who police say pretended to be a station attendant and "sold" gasoline to drivers for $10 a tank was stealing the expensive commodity and pocketing the purchase money. Joseph K. Boulware, 41, of an unknown address, was arrested May 19 at a gas station in West Baltimore where, police said, he dispensed 450 gallons of gas worth about $1,300. He was charged with theft, assault and possession of crack cocaine. His bail status could not be determined. Authorities said Mr. Boulware used a magnetic key and a code that effectively places a pump on standby...