Cops: Alleged Gas Hoarder Says He Was Stocking Up for Neighbors

A man allegedly found filling 30 five-gallon buckets with gasoline at Valero (347 Boston Post road) told Orange police it was sold out in New York, and that he was stocking up gas for his neighbors, still in the middle of a blackout. But police charged him with a misdemeanor -- and also issued one to the station's owner, who they felt should have noticed the man repeatedly coming in to pay for gas, according to reports.

Police allegedly found the man -- Yunus Lasif, 47, of Richmond Hill, NY -- filling the buckets with gas and loading them into the back of a pickup truck at around 8:45 p.m. Saturday night.

Latif allegedly told police he couldn't get gas in New York, and that his neighbors gave him money and sent him off to find gas. According to reports, the buckets weren't secured in his pickup truck, and the lids were starting to expand.

Station owner Muniruzzaman Gomosta told police it was a busy night and he didn't realize what was going on when Latif kept coming in to pay for buckets of gasoline, according to reports. But police felt he should have noticed, according to reports, and charged Gomosta with a misdemeanor as well.

In the end, Fire Marshal Timothy Smith and D.E.E.P. officials on the scene decided to return the gas to its underground tanks, according to reports. Both men will appear in court in Derby on November 19.

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