This case is proving a tough nut to crack↲: Thieves have been making off with shipments of walnuts and almonds↲ in California’s Central Valley. The latest heist is valued at $400,000.
Rich Paloma, a reporter with The Oakdale Leader tells NPR’s All Things Considered that in the most recent nut job↲ — he’s counted six thefts↲ of walnuts and almond shipments in recent months — the thieves cut through↲ a fence.
“The walnuts were in three double-trailer sets↲ … apparently the suspect or suspects hooked up their own tractor↲ to [it] and then drove it off through the fence and then onto the nearby highway↲,” Paloma says.
CBS Sacramento provides a clue as to why↲ the sudden interest in nuts. It’s the price, which has more than tripled in recent years, from 60 cents to $2 a pound.
“The theft is getting bad. You’ll see more fences going up↲ around fields,” Skipp Foppiano, a driver, tells CBS. “It’s gotten worse lately because the price of the walnuts is so much higher now.”
And these aren’t just ordinary criminals, says Paloma, who spent 26 years in law enforcement↲ before switching to journalism. He believes they are part of a larger “nut mafia.”
“From my research, I’m gathering that the person who does this is going to be well-organized and have some connections↲,” he says. “In fact, some of the sources I’ve contacted indicate that there’s an organized crime aspect to this. If you look at how they’re taken out, how they are planned, the equipment that is being used, it’s going to require some investment.”
Paloma says in one recent heist in the Bakersfield area, 80,000 pounds of walnuts were taken and a driver was detained↲.
He said the driver told police “he was given instructions from somebody with a heavy Russian accent↲ to drive them to a location in Los Angeles, and just park it and walk away.”
Continue reading…
Key Terms…
- This Is Nuts! ↔ Isso é uma loucura! ↲
- Heist Nabs $400,000 Worth Of Walnuts ↔ Assalto rouba 400 mil dólares de Nozes ↲
- a tough nut to crack ↔ “um osso duro de roer” (lit: um noz difícil abrir) ↲
- Thieves have been making off with shipments of walnuts and almonds ↔ Ladrões têm pegado as entregas de nozes e amêndoas ↲
- is valued at ↔ está avaliado em
- nut job ↔ negócio que trata de nozes* ↲
- thefts ↔ roubos, furtos ↲
- cut through ↔ cortaram (e atravessaram) ↲
- fence ↔ cerca
- three double-trailer sets ↔ três conjuntos de carreta com carreta ↲
- suspects hooked up their own tractor ↔ os suspeitos ligaram seu próprio caminhão-trator ↲
- the nearby highway ↔ a rodovia ali perto ↲
- provides a clue as to why ↔ fornece uma pista sobre o porquê ↲
- tripled ↔ triplicou
- fences going up ↔ cercas sendo montadas ↲
- driver ↔ motorista
- It’s gotten worse lately ↔ Piorou recentemente
- law enforcement ↔ polícia ↲
- I’m gathering that ↔ Estou concluindo que / Estou começando entender que
- connections ↔ conhecidos, relações ↲
- taken out ↔ retirados
- detained ↔ detido ↲
- a heavy Russian accent ↔ um forte sotaque russo ↲
- just park it and walk away ↔ simplesmente estacioná-lo e sair andando
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I bought forty dollars’ worth of gasoline today.Comprei quarenta dólares de gasolina hoje. |  |
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Some victims take pleasure in publicly shaming the thief who nabbed (pegou/robou) their laptop. | |
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Assalto Ao Banco ↔Bank Heist | |
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The robber was nabbed this morning. ↔O ladrão foi pego esta manhã. | |
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The robber was nabbed this morning. ↔O ladrão foi pego esta manhã. | |
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A company whose product has sold well in the States may find the European market a tougher nut to crack. | |
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He’s a hard nut to crack in some ways – and rather secretive. | |
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Somebody broke into the shop and made off with several TVs. | |
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The robber made away with the jewelry. | |
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A person of inadequate sanity or lacking normal perceptions of realityMan, that bitch Kara is a nut job | |
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The man was charged with theft. ↔O homem foi acusado de roubo. | |
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I’d like to report a theft. ↔Gostaria de denunciar um roubo. | |
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cut through something to move quickly and smoothly through somethingEngland cut through the French defence and scored a try. | |
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cut a way/path/route through something:He cut his way through the jungle with a machete. | |
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cut through something to go through an area instead of going around the edge of itHe decided to cut through the forest. | |
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hook up: connect, attachI had to hire an expert to hook up my computer to the office network. | |
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He hooked the microphone up to a tape recorder. | |
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I can hook up to (conectar com pela internet) the library from my computer. | |
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tentaremos encontrar qualquer pista, por mais ínfima que seja ↔we’ll look for any clue, however insignificant it may be | |
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dá ao jogador muitas pistas para resolver o mistério ↔gives the player plenty of clues to solve the mystery | |
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Gostaria de obter uma explicação sobre os motivos porque aconteceram. ↔I would welcome an explanation as to why they occurred. | |
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go up: To be built or erectedThere are new offices going up in town. | |
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law enforcement officialum responsável pela segurança pública (polícia) | |
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Além disso, a UE apoia programas dedicados à aplicação da lei e ao reforço do poder judiciário. ↔Moreover, the EU supports programmes focusing on law enforcement and reinforcing the judiciary. | |
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Os policiais também confiscaram três armas de fogo encontradas dentro da caminhonete, segundo relato da polícia. ↔Law enforcement officials also confiscated three guns discovered inside the truck, according to a police report. | |
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If you have chosen a profession, be sure to build some connections in that profession. | |
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As they grow older, some connections strengthen and others disappear. | |
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detain (prevent from leaving) não deixar sairdetain (police: keep in custody) polícia: manter em custódia | |
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sotaque carregado ↔thick accent | |
Audio Notes
- Heist Nabs $400,000 Worth Of Walnuts ↔ Assalto rouba 400 mil dólares de Nozes
A ‘heist’ usually refers to a robbery that involves a lot of planning. Thus, is usually used in regard to banks, e.g., a “bank heist”. To ‘nab’ something is to ‘get’ something, but it does not always mean to ‘steal’. For example, if I say ‘The criminals were nabbed’ I mean they the caught, the policed got them. But if I say, ‘The criminals nabbed the jewels’, then they stole the jewels.
- a tough nut to crack ↔ “um osso duro de roer” (lit: um noz difícil abrir)
Someone can be a tough nut to crack if they are hard to understand to get to know at a deep level. Something can be a tough nut to crack if it is difficult and hard to solve or understand.
- cut through ↔ cortaram (e atravessaram)
England cut through the French defence and scored a try. (quickly or easily pass through), He cut his way through the jungle with a machete. (clear a path), He decided to cut through the forest. (go around, along the edge)
On Learning Brazilian Portuguese 