Taqueria Burglar Cleans Up After Himself and Leaves a Tip

Not that we've given it a lot of thought, but if we broke into a restaurant—or any other locked establishment after hours—we'd get what we came for and scram, stat. Yet one burglar took his time early Tuesday morning when he broke into a Mexican restaurant in Long Island, New York, pausing to cook himself a meal—and even clean up the kitchen.

WPVI-TV reports that a man broke into Nelly's Taqueria about 2 a.m. Tuesday, entering through a back window. Once inside, security cameras caught him whipping up a meal in the restaurant's kitchen, then cleaning the kitchen—we presume washing the dishes and wiping down the counters—after he was done. There's no word on what he made to eat.

Of course, the burglar wasn't just there for food. He stole $100, the station reports, but he also left a $1 tip in the tip jar. In other words, he's as thoughtful of a burglar as they come.

The man's odd behavior and familiarity with the kitchen have to make you wonder if he's a former or even current employee of the establishment. Even the manager mused to the TV station that, "he knew food safety skills. He would change gloves frequently after handling food and then handling another object," both clear signs he's worked in a restaurant before.

This story may seem bizarre, but it's hardly the only odd restaurant burglary we've read. Let's not forget the story of the raccoon who earlier this summer dropped from the ceiling of a doughnut shop and snatched what appeared to be a glazed treat with his paw before exiting back through the hole from which he hung. Also this summer, a chocolate-craving broke into a Kansas State University student's car to steal a Kit Kat. Luckily, that story has a happy ending: the Hershey company replaced the treat with a whopping 6,500 new bars.