NY Man Charged with Hoarding Gas in Home Depot Buckets

The stories of desperation keep looming after Sandy's wrath. This is a weird one though because the real story may be one of a simple guy trying to help out his neighbors in a time of need.

According to investigators, Yunus Latif, of Richmond Hill, collected money from his neighbors, bought gas at a Valero station almost 80 miles away in Orange and planned to bring it back to his neighborhood, where they had no power and gas.

The only problem was he was using Home Depot 5-Gallon paint buckets instead of Federally regulated containers. As a result, he AND THE OWNER OF THE GAS STATION was arrested for storing gas in unregulated containers. They both were charged with a misdemeanor offense "for violation of regulation concerning flammable or combustible liquids."

Granted, using paint buckets was a little dumb. But, if this guy's quest for gas to bring back to his neighbors was true, turns out the police foiled nothing accept stopping a man from helping others. On the other hand, they probably saved his life considering how the buckets were all loaded in the van. Crazy.

Government regulation and bureaucracy wins again. A reasonable person would consider waiving some regulations so that people could help each other out in times of disaster, but the bureaucrat regulators never seem to let reason overwhelm the "by the book" mentality.

reply to post by davcwebb


The police also probably saved his life, and possible the lives of others. This could of ended in a myriad of terrible ways. 80 miles is at least 90 minutes, but under the current conditions, it was probably several hours to drive. The fumes could have overcome him and caused a deadly crash and subsequent fire. OR, the crash could have occurred for any other number of reasons and caused a deadly fire. Suppose he was successful in returning the cans to his neighbors, and they stored the gas inappropriately and had an explosion or a fire.

Lots of people die in the winter time from faulty heaters, poor ventilation, using unapproved devices, etc. This is no different.

It is better to go without gas for a few extra days compared to killing your children by accident.

Askville answers

reply to post by davcwebb


After the last two hurricanes here I watched people who didn't have gas cans (and they were scarce as hens teeth if you didn't already have some) fill up the same Home Depot buckets with gas, as well as plastic milk jugs and many other things not officially rated to hold gas. Police watched them do it too, and nobody got arrested or even ticketed. When in need people do what they gotta do.

There is a reason there is a law for this...Darwin award nominee but only if they fumes, which would have been horrendous killed him or ignited!


Look I don't often side with the Gub'ment but this guy could have killed himself or others. Have worked a long time ago with flammable liquids this was stupidity at its finest. Just one bucket leaking or tipped could have cause a media frenzy!

honestly that goes to show just how desperate some people are for the things we take for granted everyday..

Wonder which government employee ended up with a bunch of free gas.....

Des

reply to post by Destinyone

The gas was returned to underground storage tanks, police said.

Source the OP left off.

Police arrested a 47-year-old New York man accused of filling up 30 five-gallon Home Depot buckets with gasoline on Saturday night.
* * *
Just before 9 p.m. on Saturday in Orange, police found buckets filled with 4 gallons each stacked inside Latif's van and it looked like the lids were beginning to expand, officials said.

He would have never made it back to his neighborhood. He should be thanking the police officer for the acute observation.

Putting gas in milk jugs and oil containers is common around here.

5 gallon containers will be perfectly safe as long as you have the lids fully locked down. They won’t vent fumes.

They sell methanol (racing fuel), denatured alcohol and kerosene in 5 gallon buckets all the time at the local stores.

I'd have to take those buckets back to Home Depot and demand my money back.

Those buckets are not all-purpose if there are laws against using them to transport flammable liquids.

How do they sell oil-based paint in similar buckets? It is also flammable.

WHen I was a kid we had a coupla hundred gallon metal tank that held gas for equipment... like every other person who used gas on site for farm or land equipment. never a problem... well, until the gub'ment came in and said we couldnt anymore and had to buy one of THEIR special overpriced tanks from one of THEIR dealers.

If the dude was transporting it short term to give to folks for genny and cars.. who cares. I doubt he was going to sit on it in his shed for months on end.. in fact, it wouldnt have lasted that long in those buckets.

Originally posted by darkhorserider
Source the OP left off.

Police arrested a 47-year-old New York man accused of filling up 30 five-gallon Home Depot buckets with gasoline on Saturday night.
* * *
Just before 9 p.m. on Saturday in Orange, police found buckets filled with 4 gallons each stacked inside Latif's van and it looked like the lids were beginning to expand, officials said.

He would have never made it back to his neighborhood. He should be thanking the police officer for the acute observation.

edit on 5-11-2012 by darkhorserider because: (no reason given)

All gas containers will build up pressure after a while. The pressure will come up until the vapor pressure of the liquid balances out and it will stop at that point.

Gas and methanol will produce enough vapor pressure to make the lid bulge a bit, but that is about the limit of it. It has no where near enough pressure to pop the lid. I have had gas in a 5 gallon bucket that I was using for cleaning parts. With the lid on, in the hot sun on a 90+ degree day. It never came close to popping it off.

reply to post by Advantage




Guys, I'm as anti-government as anybody, but it isn't just about you. I've worked on plenty of farms that had agricultural fuel tanks. It is very common. The reason for the regulations is to make sure you don't explode, or contaminate your neighbor's well!

My father owned gas stations my whole life. He once got sued because several of the neighbor's wells were contaminated. The problem is the wells were all uphill from his station, and it turns out a professional painter up the hill was responsible for the contamination. For 20 years, he had been cleaning his brushes and equipment with gasoline on top of a table made from railroad ties. It was traced to him, because the contamination in the wells was gasoline, but it also had creosote that was stripped from the railroad ties and carried to the wells.

The regulations are there for a reason.

If there were not regulations, and something happened to affect the neighbors, then the same folks crying about the regulations would be crying about the lack of regulations.

reply to post by Mr Tranny

I have had gas in a 5 gallon bucket that I was using for cleaning parts. With the lid on, in the hot sun on a 90+ degree day. It never came close to popping it off.

And you would be 100% certain that 30 buckets were perfectly closed, and jostled around for a couple of hours in the back of an enclosed vehicle, and no fumes would escape?

I've seen Bic Lighers explode on my picnic table, I've had approved gas cans swell up and pop the plastic cap off (they were overfilled of course ), and I've had plenty of 5 gallon buckets malfunction during use.

He might have been fine, but he might have gotten himself killed. The police man erred on the side of keeping the guy alive, and I'm perfectly OK with that.

reply to post by darkhorserider


You reply had nothing to do with my post. Just a typical rant with an eye rolling smiley.

Have a great thread.

Originally posted by darkhorserider
I've had approved gas cans swell up and pop the plastic cap off (they were overfilled of course

), and I've had plenty of 5 gallon buckets malfunction during use.

By your own admission, the government approved containers are not 100% effective either. We live in a world of risk. We don’t live in padded little cells. It is up to us to make the decision as to what risks we are willing to take. It is called free will.

Some people like base jumping. I think they are trying to kill themselves. Do I try to outlaw it? No. It’s their right to do what they want to.
I have a loaded rifle in the corner of the room. Other people think it’s a danger to me. They can just pound sand.
I have no problem throwing a milk jug full of gas in the back seat. Other people think it’s dangerous. Again, they can just pound sand.

It is up to us to decide what risk we are willing to take.
Not the government’s.

reply to post by Advantage


It had everything to do with your post. If your old school metal tank had not been forcibly upgraded by the government, it very well could have eventually leaked or spilled into your own, or your neighbors well. It could have rusted just enough for the fumes to explode. It could have gotten ugly in any number of ways. That was the point. The regulations actually serve a purpose.

reply to post by Mr Tranny


I agree with you 92% of the way. The problem is that he was doing this for 30 of his neighbors, and he was transporting it on the road with folks that had no idea what he was doing.

If he wants to base jump, or take drugs, or erotically asphixiate himself, I don't care, but if he does it in a manner that affects his neighbors, and the other people on the highway, then it is the government's role to set standards and try to enforce those standards.

I'm sure when you take a 200mg Tylenol, you want to be sure it is 200mg and not 20,000mg right? Standards are important, and the government does such a good job at enforcing them, that we take them for granted.

That is crazy that he and the gas station owner were arrested. I'd have never thought there was a regulation or law on what I choose to store gasoline in.

Now, I don't agree with it... But if that photo is any indicator, it was very unsafe. Imagine what havoc would have resulted should a spark have entered that vehicle.

So the law is there, the question I'm left with is what was the real motive behind the arrest? Certainly law enforcement have much greater crimes and criminals to focus on in a time and place such as that, than one petty regulation-breaker.

Originally posted by Sek82
Now, I don't agree with it... But if that photo is any indicator, it was very unsafe. Imagine what havoc would have resulted should a spark have entered that vehicle.

The photo is after the buckets were emptied. He had the lids down tight when he was transporting them with the gas.