Burglar feels the heat dangling over hot oil vat

Trapped in an air shaft and screaming for help, a grease-covered burglar was rescued early on Friday morning after New York police said he got caught in the duct as he tried to break into a pizza parlour. Rotterdam police took several photographs at the scene and then shared them. Police said it took nearly 30 minutes to free a recently paroled burglar who was trapped in a ventilation duct and screaming for help as he dangled over a deep fryer at Paesan’s Pizza.



Timothy J. Cipriani was covered in grease when rescued from the too-tight air duct at the 2513 Guilderland Ave. restaurant. A second person may have been involved but disappeared from the scene before officers arrived. Cipriani, 46, of 1826 Campbell Road in Schenectady, was charged with burglary and possession of burglar tools after police said they found the lower half of his body swinging above the still-hot fryer at 1 a.m.

Lt. Michael Brown estimated that it took firefighters roughly 30 minutes to dislodge Cipriani, who Brown said was extremely distraught and shouting for assistance. Brown said Cipriani broke into the building by scaling a nearby tree and cracking into the air ducts from the roof with a hammer.



According to Brown, Cipriani caused considerable damage to Paesan’s air ducts and fire suppression system, which activated the alarm. Cipriani was checked out and cleared by paramedics at the scene, Brown said. Police said Cipriani damaged the ventilation system during the break-in. He was arraigned in Town Court and sent to the Schenectady County jail without bail.