Food Truck Shake Down Ends In Broken Glass and Arrests

Food trucks seem particularly poor candidates for extortion. They can, after all, just drive away. But that didn't stop two men — purported gang members, OMG! — from allegedly trying to shake down food trucks in the 77th Street area of LA. (For a map of LA food trucks, see Clustertruck.) It might, however, be why they charged a relatively reasonable $50 a week for "rent." Sounds like a good deal but unlike regular landlords, at least one truck that didn't pay supposedly got a rock thrown through its windshield. Anyway, their scheme didn't work. They got caught and if they're convicted, they face up to 35 years in prison where there are no taco trucks at all.

· Two Alleged Gang Members Plead Not Guilty to Food Truck Extortion [KTLA]
· All Food Trucks Coverage on Eater [-E-]
Some LA food trucks. [Photo: Ricardo Diaz / Flickr]