Hot Avocados

Although what the thieves are after has neither hoofs nor horns, to the victimized growers the crime is as dastardly as robbing a rancher of his cattle. Nestled among leathery leaves in unfenced orchards, avocados are an easy target for what Southern Californians call rustlers. And at current prices (about 50-c- apiece in most supermarkets, up to nearly $1 in some areas) the green fruit is an apparently irresistible one. Midway through this season's harvest, rustlers have already ripped off more than a million dollars' worth of Southern California's $38 million crop, and police estimate that one out of every five avocados in the state's supermarkets is a hot one. "It's like growing half-dollars on trees," says Detective Lieut. John Gault of San Diego County, which produces 70% of California's crop.

Roadside signs warning that "avocado rustlers will be prosecuted" amuse the fruit filchers. Neither a state law making the theft of more than $50 worth of avocados grand larceny nor a growers' reward of $750 for information leading to conviction of rustlers has deterred the thieves, who sometimes make off with whole 800-lb. bins of freshly picked green gold. San Diego County is now drawing up an ordinance that would require anyone transporting more than 40 Ibs. of avocados to have a bill of sale. But growers have little hope that the law will nip the avocado-nappers."Laws on the books don't mean a damn," complained one grower. "What we need to do is organize a posse."

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