Pickup truck suspected in rash of fuel heists

 Diesel Fuel System Police say diesel fuel stolen from a Pennsylvania gas bar has beenlinked to a pickup-truck trailer fitted with a trap door and vacuumhose. The truck belongs to the owner of a small asphalt and truckingcompany just across the Ohio border, police said. No one has been charged. "I've never seen anything like this," said Hermitage deputy policechief Edward Holiga. The trailer had a straw wall masking a wooden partition. Thepartition hid a siphoning mechanism and a 5-metre-long propanetank. Hermitage police hope to link the truck to other local thefts. Amonth ago a food mart had $4,500 (U.S.) worth of diesel fuel stolenfrom its underground tanks. Police in Ohio are looking into a theftthere, too. A tip led police to an Ohio site where they found the truck,storage tanks and 500 gallons of fuel. Average price of U.S. diesel fuel hit a record $4.787 yesterday.