The Law Blog

Photo Courtesy of Johnny Grim via Flickr

A burglar in the US who was arrested by New York police after breaking into a pizza restaurant, has been charged with criminal mischief. More importantly, the man escaped a fate far worse than prison: a fall into a hot-fat fryer.

Forty-six-year-old Timothy Cipriani, of New York, USA, decided to visit the nearby Paesano’s pizza joint on Friday. Unlike most other visitors to the restaurant, Mr Cipriani chose to enter the building by climbing a tree, gaining access to the roof and climbing through an air duct. Notwithstanding the deliciousness of pizza, Mr Cipriani had entered the building in this manner not because he was hungry, but because he intended to burgle the place. Unfortunately for Mr Cipriani, the air duct did not properly cater to his specific requirements.

After becoming stuck in the air duct, Mr Cipriani found himself dangling over a hot-fat fryer, which had been in use throughout the day and was therefore still very warm. Fearful of his imminent deep-fat death, the bungling burglar began to scream out in terror. John Risko, the general manager of the restaurant, was alerted to Mr Cipriani’s plight when a fire alarm was sounded in the building. Arriving at the restaurant, Mr Risko was stunned when he saw Mr Cipriani wedged in the air duct.

Mr Risko said: “I come in, turn off the alarms, take a peek into the kitchen and see this guy’s legs dangling out of the hood over the stove in the kitchen. I just started laughing.”

Lorenzo Scavio, the restaurant’s owner, added: “As he was coming down the hood, when he got to the bottom, he stepped on one of the pipes. The pipes burst, which triggered the alarm. These are tied to the fire suppression system over the stove and fryers.

“He was actually lucky that he tripped the fire system. If he didn’t, he would have probably died in there. I think he’s out of his mind. It doesn’t make any sense. We don’t keep any money in the store and you can’t pull the equipment out. What was he trying to rob? It just doesn’t make sense at all.”

Perhaps Mr Cipriani was hungry? Whatever the reason for targeting Paesano’s, the criminal was fortunate to have escaped serious injury. In theory, accident claims could be brought against restaurant owners who fail to erect adequate signage warning the public of hazards. Signage to discourage people from climbing into an air duct and dangling over a hot-fat fryer, however, is probably not necessary.