EXCLUSIVE: An attorney for Forbes March, the former star of such soaps as One Life to Live and All My Children who was arrested earlier this month in New York State for the alleged theft of used cooking oil, has responded to the charge in an exclusive statement to Deadline saying that March operates a legitimate oil collection service and that a “poorly marked and seemingly abandoned” container was mistaken for one of the containers legally serviced by March’s company.

“While not readily apparent to Forbes that day due to the poor markings,” reads the statement released by attorney Jared K. Hart, “one of the containers in fact allegedly belonged to Buffalo Biodiesel. Approximately 90 gallons of oil, only a portion of the oil collected that evening, allegedly came from the Biodiesel container that appeared abandoned and contained mostly dirty rainwater that would later have to be separated out.

“There was never an intent to steal nor permanently deprive another company of their alleged cooking oil,” the statement continues.

March is expected to appear in an Ulster court to formally answer the charge on March 28.

March and another man were arrested in Hudson County, New York, earlier this month and charged with grand larceny in the fourth degree for the alleged theft of used cooking oil from an Ulster, New York, restaurant called Michael’s Diner. (Used cooking oil can be used to manufacture biofuels, and oil theft has been on the rise in recent years.)

According to an Ulster Police Department report, the value of the oil exceeded $1,000, hence the larceny charge.

But March’s lawyer says that the relatively small amount of oil taken from the Buffalo Biodiesel container is worth at most $300, and that March immediately offered to pump the oil back into the container but that the oil was taken into custody by the police.

According to the statement, March, who owns and operates a firewood delivery company based out of his farm in the Catskill Mountains that provides services to restaurants, purchased an existing used oil collection route in early February as a supplement to his existing business.

“Forbes’ existing business had the infrastructure in place to segue into the biodiesel collection market,” the statement reads. “Michaels Diner was on that purchased route.”

“Unbeknownst to Forbes, another company called Buffalo Biodiesel also had a container at Michaels Diner and apparently had not serviced this restaurant in over six (6) months; yet this restaurant had been regularly serviced by the company Forbes bought the route from. At Forbes’ first visit to the location, several containers were present in which Forbes was led to believe were all his containers. The containers were poorly marked and seemingly abandoned but oil had been stored in them. The owner confirmed with Forbes that day that the oil was there for him to collect. All of the containers present, except for one, were properly stored for Forbes to collect.”

March’s attorney writes that the legal case against his client “is nothing more than a civil matter trumped up to be made to look criminal because a competitor in the biodiesel market failed in their obligations to service their customer.”

Deadline has reached out to Buffalo Biodiesel and will update this post with a response. The company routinely tweets near-daily reports of thefts from its oil containers; a retweet of Deadline’s previous article about March is pinned atop the company’s Twitter page.

In the attorney statement, Hart describes March as “a contributing member to society his entire life and has never had any issues with law enforcement. His goal in running this newly formed business was to contribute to the alternate energy resources available and he was in a unique position to be able to do so. We are disappointed that Forbes’ efforts as a volunteer with children, refugees, the arts, as a first responder and more will forever be overshadowed by these frivolous charges.”

The statement concludes with, “We appreciate the privacy the press has extended to Forbes’ family and look forward to putting this matter behind Forbes as he continues with his legitimate business activities and public service.”

As an actor, March had roles on various daytime serials beginning with All My Children in 1999, then One Life to Live from 2005-08 and on As the World Turns in 2009. Other TV credits include the Canadian sci-fi series Mutant X, Degrassi: The Next Generation and the 2010 TV movie Degrassi Takes Manhattan. He retired from acting before starting his restaurant service company in New York’s Catskill Mountain region.

The attorney statement in its entirety is as follows:

In early February, Forbes purchased an existing used oil collection route through a known business listing service to supplement another of Forbes’ existing businesses which also provides goods and services to
restaurants. Forbes’ existing business had the infrastructure in place to segway into the biodiesel collection market. Michaels Diner was on that purchased route.

Part of the collection process involves placing specific containers at restaurants for the oil to be stored and then picked up. Containers had been present at Michaels Diner for months preceding the purchase of the route by Forbes. The manager of Michaels Diner has confirmed that his diner was in fact a customer of the business. Unbeknownst to Forbes, another company called Buffalo Biodiesel also had a container at Michaels Diner and apparently had not serviced this restaurant in over six (6) months; yet this restaurant had been regularly serviced by the company Forbes bought the route from. At Forbes’ first visit to the location, several containers were present in which Forbes was led to believe were all his containers. The containers were poorly marked and seemingly abandoned but oil had been stored in them. The owner confirmed with Forbes that day that the oil was there for him to collect. All of the containers present, except for one, were properly stored for Forbes to collect.

While not readily apparent to Forbes that day due to the poor markings, one of the containers in fact allegedly belonged to Buffalo Biodiesel. Approximately 90 gallons of oil, only a portion of the oil collected that evening, allegedly came from the Biodiesel container that appeared abandoned and contained mostly dirty rainwater that would later have to be separated out.

There was never an intent to steal nor permanently deprive another company of their alleged cooking oil. The oil was offered to be pumped back in immediately and is in fact currently being held by law enforcement. The market value of the alleged oil removed from the Buffalo Biodiesel container is at most $300.00. The facts and circumstances are extremely overblown, and this is nothing more than a civil matter trumped up to be made to look criminal because a competitor in the biodiesel market failed in their obligations to service their customer.

Forbes has been a contributing member to society his entire life and has never had any issues with law enforcement. His goal in running this newly formed business was to contribute to the alternate energy resources available and he was in a unique position to be able to do so. We are disappointed that Forbes’ efforts as a volunteer with children, refugees, the arts, as a first responder and more will forever be overshadowed by these frivolous charges.

We appreciate the privacy the press has extended to Forbes’ family and look forward to putting this matter behind Forbes as he continues with his legitimate business activities and public service.