Cynthia Hosein made her dreams come true last year, investing around $70,000 in a food truck, a truck that police say was stolen.

“I put everything into that truck, it was bought with my credit cards, I borrowed money,” said Hosein. “I wasn’t sure if it was a prank or it was real.”

Cynthia says on Saturday night, her truck was in the parking lot behind her family’s restaurant on Church Avenue in Brooklyn. The next day she came to work and realized her truck was gone.

“How I’m going to pay my bills, I have car payments, I have rent, I have other bills to pay, what am I going to do?” Hosein said.

For decades, Cynthia’s parents have owned Nio’s Trinidadian Roti Shop in East Flatbush. They serve all kinds of Caribbean dishes, including curry goat, chicken, and Kurma, a crunchy sweet snack. Cynthia makes a living by selling this food to New Yorkers on the go.

“I came here everyday, I actually purchased the food from the restaurant,” Hosein said.

Her mother Zorine worries the crime will never be solved.

“It’s really sad, it was just parked up there, and someone came up and stole the truck and drive away,” Hosein said.

Cynthia served up her family’s fare five days a week in the Financial District and also East Flatbush. Regular customers say they can’t believe this has happened.

“That’s sad, that’s real sad, I’m gonna miss it,” said one customer.

“Usually I go for a walk, I grab one of the curry slice, stew chicken and rice and peas, and I’m not going to get that anymore, it’s going to remove the flavor that I enjoy at lunch,” said another customer.

Cynthia’s hope now is that someone out there has information on the theft and that they call police.

Anyone with information on the case should contact the Crime Stoppers hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS, or text CRIMES and then enter TIP577, or visit www.nypdcrimestoppers.com.

http://brooklyn.ny1.com/content/top_stories/181200/brooklyn-food-truck-owner-says-thief-made-off-with-wheels

Taco Truck | Photo: waltarrrrr/Flickr/Creative Commons License

There’s certainly something to that iconic piece of advice that the three most important qualities to consider if you’re ever thinking about opening up your own business are: location, location, location. And that’s especially true if you’re thinking about opening up your own restaurant. It doesn’t matter if you have the greatest chef in the world and use the freshest ingredients in all of L.A. — if you happen to stick that restaurant in a super-cheap space in the thick of Skid Row, odds are it’s not going to last. Which is why the idea of owning and operating a food truck, instead of a stationary restaurant, is so fashionable: The ability to roam around town wherever there’s a big event, in addition to the fact that you don’t have to pay rent, makes it an incredibly business-savvy idea.

Turns out, though, some of these trucks did have to pay rent in order to park in certain locations. And that rent was going to members of the notorious MS-13 gang.

According to grand jury records that were unsealed this week, twenty individuals in the gang (which also goes by the name Mara Salvatrucha) spent the past five years extorting the owners of food trucks to the tune of $10 to $100 a week, along with free food for the gang members. The price the trucks would be forced to pay depended on how good of business the truck was doing. Think: old-timey well-dressed mobsters walking through 1920s Little Italy picking up “protection money” from street grocers.

Except, nowadays, the gangs aren’t as subtle. If the trucks refused to pay?

“(They said), ‘If you don’t pay us, we’re gonna shoot your truck or we’re gonna kill your employees,’” she said.

The trucks being targeted weren’t the new posh, hip, upscale boutiques roaming the area like Kogi Truck or the Grilled Cheese Truck — they would certainly alert the cops of that shady business — but instead were the small mom-and-pop taco trucks that serve the workers at construction sites during lunch hour.

And just who are these folks working their muscles on independent food truck workers? According to Wikipedia, which has a surprisingly dense history on them, the MS-13s are a 70,000+ member gang with chapters all across America, the two biggest ones being in L.A. and San Francisco. They were started back in ’80s down in the Pico-Union area of L.A. by immigrants from El Salvador and have been up to no good since. Among non-food truck based crimes the gang’s been involved in selling drugs, running guns, prostitution, human trafficking, kidnapping and plenty of murder. Which is to say, these are pretty intense folks, and if you’re a mild-mannered food truck operator there’s really no way around paying out.

Perhaps the most interesting aspect of this case is that the LAPD stopped the extortion ring despite the food trucks themselves technically being an illegal operation. (Seeing as most of them don’t have the proper permits to be serving food in the first place.) During an interview regarding the case, LAPD chief Charlie Beck was asked how the police navigate the murky boundaries between protecting the trucks from gang members and condoning illegal activity.

“If somebody is a victim of extortion, that is a much more serious crime and has a much broader impact on a community than illegal vending,” Beck said. “We would be more than happy to work with any vendor, any victim.”

Which means the LAPD made the smart move of, in this case, frying the bigger fish.

So maybe if you happen to pick up some tacos from one of these establishments in the near future, drop a few extra quarters in their tip jars. Hopefully they’ll be able to keep 100% of it now.

http://www.kcet.org/living/food/food-rant/la-food-trucks-extortion.html

[Photo: Flickr/stu_spivack]

The food truck industry has its very serious dangers, but hopefully food truck operators in Hollywood can rest a bit easier knowing that 20 alleged gang members are under arrest for extortion and conspiracy to commit extortion. Los Angeles Daily News reports the individuals under arrest stand accused of “shaking down owners and operators over a five-year period beginning in July 2007. They demanded ‘rent’ ranging from $30 to $100 a week to operate trucks parked in Hollywood.” The indictment marks the conclusion of the LAPD’s “Protecting the Dream” investigation.

According to the Los Angeles Times, the targets of the alleged extortion were food trucks “serving blue collar workers at construction sites.” The defendants are reputed to be members of the MS-13 gang, which has been designated by the federal government as a “transnational criminal organization.” The arraignment took place yesterday in Los Angeles Superior Court, and all defendants pleaded not guilty.

http://eater.com/archives/2013/03/19/20-gang-members-charged-with-extorting-hollywood-food-trucks.php

Food Trucks
File photo: catering truck. Credit Linda Covella

Twenty reputed MS-13 gang members and associates were arraigned Monday in a series of grand jury indictments charging them with operating an extortion ring that targeted food truck owners in Hollywood.

Five separate indictments, returned Jan. 28 and unsealed Monday, charged 25 different individuals, but five of those were not arraigned Monday. Their names were redacted from the indictments and the District Attorney’s Office said they could not name them or provide any further information.

The indictments were the culmination of a yearlong investigation dubbed “Protecting the Dream,” conducted by the Los Angeles Police Department, the District Attorney’s Office and other law enforcement agencies.

The suspected Mara Salvatrucha members and associates allegedly targeted catering trucks at construction job sites, shaking down owners and operators over a five-year period beginning in July 2007. They demanded “rent” ranging from $30 to $100 a week to operate trucks parked in Hollywood, according to prosecutors.

In at least one instance, a defendant threatened to kill a food truck operator and his employees if he did not pay the “rent” money, according to the indictments.

All 20 named defendants—arrested late last week—pleaded not guilty before Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Charlaine Olmedo.

They range in age from a 63-year-old woman, Martha Lara, to two 17-year-old defendants, charged as adults, Alex Vasquez and Andrew Quintanilla. The other defendants are:

   — Marlon Juarez, 27;
– Jose Parada, 23;
– David Alfaro, 20;
– Alberto Chojolan, 32;
– Christian A. Serranno, 21;
– Gerson Perez, 32;
– Edwin Quintanilla, 21;
– Jaime Moran, 18;
– Juan Gomez, 27;
– Angel Navarro, 18;
– Edin Juarez, 25;
– Francisco Ruiz, 19;
– Isamar Marroquin, 21;
– Kevin Perez, 22;
– Yesenia Alfaro, 39;
– Noemi Cornel, 21; and
– Hugo Fernandez, 23.

They were ordered to return April 18 for a pretrial hearing.

Mara Salvatrucha, formed in Los Angeles by immigrants from El Salvador and other Central America nations in the 1980s, was recently labeled a transnational criminal organization by federal law enforcement authorities, a designation that enables federal agents to freeze assets.

http://hollywood.patch.com/articles/gang-members-accused-of-extorting-hollywood-food-trucks

Critical violations of state sanitation and safety laws recently observed by inspectors at four South Florida restaurants prompted the Florida Department of Business & Professional Regulation to cite the owners and briefly suspend operations.

Noel Family Restaurant, 1560 N.E. 4^th Ave., Fort Lauderdale was briefly closed Dec. 19 after an inspector observed the business operating without a current hotel and restaurant license; ready-to-eat, cooked chicken in the refrigerator was prepared on site, held more than 24 hours and not properly date marked; working containers of sugar were removed from an original container and not identified by its common name; potentially hazardous boiled eggs on a steam table were not held at 135 degrees Fahrenheit or above; bowls without handles were used to dispense sugar and cooked chicken; no chemical test kit was provided when using chemical sanitizer at a three-compartment sink/ware washing machine; no proper chemical test kit was provided for measuring the concentration of the sanitizer solution for wiping cloths and the solution was not at proper minimum strength; the interior of a freezer was soiled with accumulated food residue; hand washing cleanser was not provided at a kitchen hand washing lavatory; 7 dead roaches were in a glue trap and 3 were under a kitchen sink; 21 fresh rodent droppings were in a dry storage area adjacent to the kitchen and there was no door separating the areas.

The business was allowed to reopen Dec. 20 after a callback inspection found the conditions that created a severe and immediate threat to public health and safety no longer existed.  A message left for an owner was not immediately returned.

Church’s Chicken # 343, 2899 N.W. 7^th Ave., Miamiwas briefly closed Dec. 19 after an inspector observed a buildup of slime in the interior of the ice machine; the bathroom door lock was in disrepair and it was not enclosed with tight-fitting, self-closing doors; deadroaches were found on the floor “throughout the restaurant;” there was evidence of more than 15 live roaches and small flying insects were seen in a storage area.

The business was allowed to reopen Dec. 20 after a callback inspection found the conditions that created a severe and immediate threat to public health and safety no longer existed.  A manager declined to comment Wednesday.

Fritanga Hondunica, 421 N.W. 36^th Street, Miami was briefly closed Dec. 19 after an inspector observed potentially hazardous cold eggs, poultry and cheese held at greater than 41 degrees Fahrenheit; all reach-in coolers were without power at the time of the inspection; a non-operating cooler in a storage room had dead roaches inside; more than 20 dried rodent droppings were found in the kitchen, inside a cooking pot that was not inverted and beneath a food prep table shelf; more than 11 live roaches were found, in a kitchen sink, on walls and cracks and inside and outside of a non-working reach-in cooler in a storage room; power to the establishment was off at the time of the inspection and the business was operating without a current hotel and restaurant license.

The business was allowed to reopen Dec. 20 after a callback inspection found the conditions that created a severe and immediate threat to public health and safety no longer existed.  OperatorCarolina Hernandez said in Spanish, “We were closed for one day. The inspector came back the following day, we had an exterminator and the state said we could open.”

Tastee Express 5 mobile food truck, 10058 Spanish Isles Blvd., Boca Raton briefly had its license suspended Dec. 20 after an inspector observed hot and cold water was not providedor was shut off at an employee hand wash sink; the license was expired within 30 days after the expiration date; the mobile cleaning unit was not properly operated or equipped and grilled onions, peppers and sauerkraut were not individually packaged.  A Dec. 21 re-inspection found the operator was not ready to re-open at that time, according to a state report. The owner could not immediately be reached for comment at a phone number provided to the inspector.

The Crime & Safety blog reports on inspections of South Florida dining spots each week as the state pursues its goal to review Florida’s 45,000 licensed restaurants twice each year.

But if you’re going out to eat, search our restaurant databases before you leave home.

A state spokeswoman says it’s not the number of critical violations that will cause a restaurant to be temporarily shut down, but rather the nature of what an inspector finds that merits closing a business.

After a restaurant is shuttered, an inspector typically visits again within 24 hours and continues to visit until violations are resolved and the business can re-open. Repeat critical violations can lead to fines of $500 to $1,000 per instance in a future administrative complaint levied by the state.

If a bad dining experience makes you feel ill, it’s easy to complain to the Florida Department of Business & Professional Regulation by calling 850-487-1395 or by filing a report online atMyFloridaLicense.com.  But beware: that’s not the place for personal vendettas. False reports can lead to misdemeanor charges.

And if you haven’t checked out a bistro’s inspection history online before making a reservation, state law requires restaurants to provide customers with a copy.

By Mitchell Byar  | Daily Camera

A 73-year-old Boulder woman was arrested on DUI and vehicular assault charges Wednesday after police say she clipped a food truck with her SUV, drove into a University of Colorado student eating lunch and then struck the church where she had planned to attend an Alcoholic Anonymous meeting.

Witnesses told police that a woman — later identified as Brenda Geers, of Boulder — was driving her 1998 Toyota 4Runner west on Colorado Avenue around 12:12 p.m. Wednesday when she turned into the parking lot of St. Aidan’s Episcopal Church, 2425 Colorado Ave.

According to Boulder police Sgt. Jack Walker, the driver clipped the Cheese Louise food truck parked in the lot before barreling into a table where the victim –18-year-old CU freshman Eric Anderson — was eating lunch. The SUV then ran into the church’s covered entryway.

Anderson was transported to Boulder Community Hospital with a punctured lung and numerous broken ribs, Walker said. He remained at the hospital Wednesday evening.

Geers was not injured.

According to police, she told officers she was on her way to St. Aiden’s to attend an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting.

Geers was in custody at the Boulder County Jail on Wednesday evening.

http://www.dailycamera.com/news/boulder/ci_21689473/boulder-police-woman-driving-suv-clipped-food-truck

Four food trucks have either been stolen or broken into in the last two weeks.

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Four food trucks have either been stolen or broken into in the last two weeks.

Bruno and Ariela Mejie had their 20-foot food trailer El Habenara stolen on August 9.

Since then, the Hungry Monkey food truck was broken into on August 12, when thieves took a generator and cookware while the truck was parked in the Merion Village area.

On August 14 someone threw a brick through the windshield of the Tato Heads truck, putting them out of business for a few days.

On August 10, Boston Berts Seafood truck reported a theft of a generator and propane tanks worth more than $1,700.

Bruno Mejie said his wife had served caribbean-style food from their trailer in the 900 block of Morse Road for three weeks. His brother drove by at 11 p.m. August 9.

“He didn’t see it, but didn’t think to call us because he figured we had parked at our house doing preparations for the Latin Festival,” Mejie said.

The two-month old food trailer and supplies cost the Mejies more than $20,000.

“Luckily we had it insured,” he said.

Steve Brady at the Food Fort, a Subsidiary of Economic Community Development Institute said this is a prime part of the season for food truck businesses.

“These types of thefts can shut a business down for days or put them out of business,” Brady said.

The Food Fort offers a facility where food vendors can park their trucks and or carts in a well-lit area with camera surveillance.

“We have a lot of activity going on 24/7, that’s what you want — well-lit lots where there is people in and out and an alarm if you can afford it,” he said.

Mejia said his wife doesn’t feel comfortable driving in front of the ZZ Boots store where her trailer was parked.

“She feels like she has been violated to a certain degree,” Mejia said.

http://www2.nbc4i.com/news/2012/aug/24/thieves-are-targeting-food-truck-vendors-ar-1148719/

SFPD Deputy Chief Gillian Alessio, left, and Lt. Louis Carlos (right). (Photo courtesy Twitter account of @sfpd_pio)

Santa Fe police are looking for two suspects who robbed a mobile food vendor on Cerrillos Road on Friday morning and caused injuries that sent him to the hospital.

According to Lt. Louis Carlos, a woman snatched a money bag from the front seat of a burrito truck parked at Allsup’s, 3000 Cerrillos Road, at about 11:05 a.m. and attempted to flee.

The owner of the truck, who was selling food when his vehicle was broken into, saw the woman running and began chasing her, according to Carlos.

“She ran toward a stolen black Hyundai and handed the bag to a man in the car,” Carlos said.

The Hyundai was listed as a stolen car out of Española, according to Carlos.

The owner of the food truck reached into the Hyundai to try to take the keys out of the ignition, and as the driver tried to pull out of the parking lot, the rear end of the Hyundai struck the food truck owner, Carlos said. The vendor was transported to Christus St. Vincent Regional Medical Center, where he was treated for minor injuries, Carlos said.

Police did not identify the male or female suspect Friday afternoon. Carlos did say that two suspects had been identified but reserved releasing their names until investigators apprehend them.