[StBernard] St. Bernard Parish Sheriff's Office questions person in SDT truck theft, dumping case

[Westley Annis]

St. Bernard Parish Sheriff's Office questions person in SDT truck theft,
dumping case
by The Times-Picayune 
Wednesday March 18, 2009, 10:18 AM
St. Bernard Parish authorities said this morning that a suspect was
questioned late last night in the apparent theft of a truck from SDT Waste &
Debris' company yard in Chalmette. 

News outlets reported over the weekend that an SDT truck had been videotaped
illegally dumping sewage into a storm drain in the Lower Ninth Ward. 

St. Bernard Sheriff Jack Stephens said in the news release that his office's
inquiry into the "unusual events" has shown "it's apparent it was a set-up"
and points to a conspiracy to make owner Sidney Torres IV and his company
look bad. 

The Sheriff's Office would not identify the suspect and said no arrest has
yet been made.

The SDT truck was taken without permission from the company's Chalmette yard
Saturday night and returned to the business less than an hour later, the
Sheriff's Office said. There are indications that more than one person was
involved in the incident, Stephens said. 

The suspect was located using a cell phone number given to a local
television station when someone tried to sell a copy of a videotape of the
waste being illegally dumped in the Ninth Ward, the Sheriff's Office said. 

Torres has called the incident the work of a saboteur. He has said no SDT
employees were working at the time of the truck theft and dumping.

Torres is expected to appear before a New Orleans City Council committee
today to discuss the dumping incident.