Coke dealer passes fuel costs on to customers

by Jason Sanders | September 19, 2008 at 09:00 am | 1671 views | 44 comments | 28 recommendations

First it was the airlines, then the ferries,  and now drug dealers. Fuel prices are just starting to come down after a recent jump last week, but compared to last year, fuel prices have increased over 30 cents (in Canada) and some retailers are starting to pass on the costs to customers. Enter Anthony Salinas, coke dealer.

This enterprising young man added a fuel surcharge to his drug deliveries to help offset to rising costs.

While arranging one buy, Salinas told the source that a quarter-ounce of cocaine would cost $240--$215 for the drug itself and "$25.00 for gas money to deliver the cocaine," according to the court affidavit, a copy of which you'll find below. Salinas, a Hammond resident, was named last week in a two-count felony information charging him with "dealing in cocaine."

Check out the affidavit at The Smoking Gun to read the Porter County Drug Task Force Coordinator's recounting of the events that led to Salinas' arrest.

recommend Add a comment
0
tenthz

This was taken on 8/14/2008 in a suburb of Harrisburg, PA.

tenthz has contributed a photo to this story.

master_jim2008
master_jim2008
flagged this story as Good Stuff

at 12:06 on September 19th, 2008

Jason Sanders, I like this story. It's good stuff.

I wouldn't be surprised if his customer was so insensed by the $25 surcharge that he rolled on his dealer.

0
dianezink1021

I was the 7th person in line. My husband called me and asked me if I need gas? I told him yes, I am almost on (E). He told me at first it was $1.99 for regular. When, I got there it was $2.99 for regular. That is still good. It was better then paying $3.55. So, I had them fill it up and they said there is free stuff to win and free pizza and they gave away coffee cups with LUKOIL on it. Plus they had the radio staion there getting people down to see there new business that just opened. Yesterday I just payed $3.41 in Salem, MA You had to paycash for that. You have to watch out for these other gas staion, it might be cheaper if you pay cash for gas. If, you used your credit card you will be paying much more at the pumps. That happened to me in Haverhill, MA I am always looking for the cheap gas price. Between Bradford and Andover line, they have a war going on there gas prices. It is only a penny or two less.

dianezink1021 has contributed a photo to this story.

0
MaggieTacheny

Great story.


Maggie T has contributed a photo to this story.

0
jordan

The rest of the profit margin is the this-is-illegal-and-I-could-get-busted-at-any-time surcharge.

0
DavidHolland

This photo of a gas station in Weimar, Germany was taken July 2008. Keep in mind the prices are in Euros!

DavidHolland has contributed a photo to this story.

0
SpeednutDave

Diesel cars available in California now? At these prices, who cares how great of gas mileage they get.

SpeednutDave has contributed a photo to this story.

0
Opelika Daily News

I'm use to seeing a price as something point something 3.999. But not in my summer travels. It was a flat $4.00 a gallon. Just grabbed this shot (my highest price for gas in May) while heading to Savannah, GA.

Opelika Daily News has contributed a photo to this story.

0
MathTeacherGuy

When I first bought gas, it cost about 35 cents, and so did a loaf of bread. About 1980 we were all upset because mortgages were 19%, bread was about a buck, and so was gas. In 1999, my first tank of gas in my new truck cost $1.14 but a loaf of nice bread was 2 dollars. One Republican President later, gas is almost 4 dollars (or $4.66 at this Shell). A loaf of crappy bread is still 2 bucks but a loaf of nice bread is almost 4. People stuck between gas prices, paying the home mortgage, and putting food on the table are in a lot of pain. The President's friends are crying all the way to the (Swiss) bank. Sad. Really sad.

MathTeacherGuy has contributed a photo to this story.

0
Wiskow

This is a photo of the price sign at an Exxon station in Kingsville, Texas, on December 28, 1998. Regular unleaded for only 70.9¢/gal. My, how things have changed in only ten years.

Wiskow has contributed a photo to this story.

0
mark_potter_2000

These pumps are from a long-closed Mobil station on TX 256 in Lesley, TX, which is located in the eastern Panhandle near Memphis in Hall County. The pumps appear to list prices of less than $1 per gallon which means this station has not pumped gas since the late 1970s.

mark_potter_2000 has contributed a photo to this story.

0
mikewade

Heh heh. You just can't get a good deal on your coke anymore. Sheesh!

0
waski_the_squirrel

I hope my photo of an abandoned gas pump fits the story. It was taken in Trotters, ND. It's a ghost town on Highway 16 on the western edge of the state.

0
VickieRans

Service station located in Austell, GA; station has been closed for quite sometime, but the sign and reminder of reasonable prices still remains.

VickieRans has contributed a photo to this story.

0
Mark Birkle

This was a non-event when I took the photo. Simply a snapshot of small town America. The photo only became significant four and a half years later when the price of gasoline had risen meteorically. It is a nonrenewable resource...we would do well to remember that fact.

Mark Birkle has contributed a photo to this story.

0
refenoveso

Mountain View, CA

refenoveso has contributed a photo to this story.

0
kameraninja

This was scribbled above a gas pump in Bakersfield, CA. Ironically, the gas station's prices were lower than the average in town.

kameraninja has contributed a photo to this story.

0
jrbett

This is a gas station in Reno, NV. Although the photo is a few months old, they are still charging an arm and a leg for their gasoline.

jrbett has contributed a photo to this story.

0
Cat Juggling

This is actually the second picture this Summer of my closest gas station here in Monroe, Wa. This was to show it had actually DROPPED below $4 again.

Cat Juggling has contributed a photo to this story.

0
Johnny Rotterdam

This was taken in Redwood City, CA in February or March of 2008. http://bottledwalter.wordpress.com

Johnny Rotterdam has contributed a photo to this story.

0
dharmamike

I took this photo in June 2008 at what I hope was the peak of gas prices in our area. The prices were so high that a nearby gas station put up a sticker indicating pay at the pump limits. You know it costs too much when the store cannot even accept payment.

dharmamike has contributed a photo to this story.

0
George Schmiester

It doesn't take a business major in college to tell the world that we are in a terrible situation in regards to our economy and with our dependance on oil.

Several people do not know why the gas prices are set the way they are, but its a simple rule of supply and demand. And the demand for oil only continues to rise when the prices are cheaper and it then balances it self out.

One thing to remember though, price per barrel is set at in a futures market. The gas you put in your car today was purchased approx. 2 weeks ago at that price. It called hedge funds and yep... you can guess who's buying the stock (rich people)

George Schmiester has contributed a photo to this story.

0
steveoa3d

First day the prices jumped to the $4 a gallon range. I was a little freaked out...

steveoa3d has contributed a photo to this story.

0
RayBanBro66

This photo was taken on Memorial Day (5/30/2008) in Darby, Pa. A small borough located 15 miles south of Philadelphia. At the time I took this, I wandered how high gas prices would go. "Regular" gas was on the brink of topping the $4.00 gallon mark, which was something unprecedented at the time. It is now September, and since that time, I have seen this same sign fluctuate from as high as $4.15 for "Regular" gas to it's current price of $3.65(for "regular" gas)

RayBanBro66 has contributed a photo to this story.

Gh0s7
Gh0s7
flagged this story as Good Stuff

at 08:09 on September 20th, 2008

Jason Sanders, I like this story. It's good stuff. Well.. Drugs are a commodity regardless of whether some want to acknowledge that or not. As we all know, the price of a lot of goods are rising because of fuel costs, so why not drugs too?

0
jordan

Yes- an illegal economy, but an economy nonetheless.

0
mElCh mAq

This photo was taken last Winter. As you can see gas price is at $1.00/litre. As of this writing, price is up by 13 cents/litre

mElCh mAq has contributed a photo to this story.

0
skatoolaki

A shot taken of rising gas prices in southern Louisiana in May 2008.

skatoolaki has contributed a photo to this story.

0
rgenau

This photo seems so dated...I took it in November of '07, when gas (as I recall) was around $3 per gallon in the rest of the country, and at the entrance to Yosemite National Park, they were charging about 50% more than that. Capitalism, baby! (Actually, location, location, location...)

rgenau has contributed a photo to this story.

politisite
politisite
flagged this story as Good Stuff

at 10:21 on September 21st, 2008

Jason Sanders, I like this story. It's good stuff.  Well heck, you get charged for a pillow on a plane.  Next he will be charging carbon offsets for the plastic and if one smokes crack rather then snort it!

Add a comment

The content of this field is kept private and will not be shown publicly.

September 19, 2008 at 09:00 am by Jason Sanders, 1671 views, 44 comments

Vote for us at the Mashable Open Web Awards 2008

Crowd Power

master_jim2008
First Flagged at 12:06 PM, Sep 19, 2008 by master_jim2008
These members have powered this story: