Cheese Confiscated; 2 Held in Raid at Hamburger Stand
Los Angeles County Sheriff’s deputies said they confiscated 5,180 pounds of stolen government surplus cheese, as well as three allegedly purloined electric typewriters Tuesday during a 2 a.m. raid at the Marathon Hamburgers stand in the 600 block of East Compton Boulevard in Compton.
They also arrested the husband and wife owners, Stephanos and Maria Tsimahidis, on suspicion of receiving stolen property.
“We got tips from several sources during the last two weeks, and three days ago started watching the hamburger place.” Sheriff’s Sgt. John Null said.
The processed American cheese was still packed in its Department of Agriculture containers and marked, “Not for sale,” Null said.
With a street value of about $1.25 a pound, the total haul of cheese was valued at $6,475--enough to furnish 165,000 hamburgers, more or less. The typewriters were valued at about $4,000, officers said.
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