Duo Swiped Cooking Oil From IHOP, Other Nassau Park Area Eateries: Police

WILLISTON PARK, NY — Two men swiped cooking oil from a slew of Williston Park area eateries, including IHOP, Nassau police said.

Officers on patrol found a 1999 Ford E350 van with two men behind IHOP on Hillside Avenue at about 2:30 a.m. on Wednesday and they were stealing used cooking oil from the eatery, according to detectives.

Eduardo Gutierrez Benitez, 48, of Brooklyn, and Andres Felipe Duarte Pineda, 23, of Elizabeth, NJ were arrested without incident and the vehicle was impounded, detectives said. They were charged with multiple counts of petty larceny, a misdemeanor.

It was later determined that they also were responsible for the thefts of used cooking oil from the following locations:

• Café Sport – 361 Hillside Ave., Williston Park
• Uncle Bacalas - 2370 Jericho Tpke., Garden City
• Jonathan’s Restaurant - 3000 Jericho Tpke., Garden City Park
• Shah’s Halal Food - 3334 Hillside Ave., Garden City Park
• Brew House - 924 Hillside Ave., New Hyde Park
• Dominicks Italian Deli - 401 Herricks Rd., New Hyde Park
• Amalfi Pizza - 49 Old Shore Rd., Port Washington

Benitez and Pineda were issued appearance tickets returnable to First District Court in Hempstead on May 12.