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Suburban Man Arrested In New Jersey For Stealing 21 Tons Of Wisconsin Cheese

(CBS) -- A Plainfield man has been arrested in New Jersey, for allegedly stealing a truckload of cheese from a Wisconsin dairy.

WBBM Newsradio's Bernie Tafoya reports perhaps it was fitting 34-year-old Veniamin Konstantinovich Balika was arrested at a New Jersey Turnpike oasis named for legendary Green Bay Packers coach Vince Lombardi, when he was pulled over in a refrigerated truck hauling 42,000 pounds of Muenster cheese.

The cheese had been stolen from K&K Cheese in Cashton, Wis., and was valued at $200,000, according to police.

A detective said Balika used fake paperwork to get the company to load his truck with the cheese, and he planned to sell it on the East Coast.

The company said it doesn't want the cheese back, because there's no guarantee it hasn't been tampered with.

If it passes New Jersey health inspections, it will be donated to charity.

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