Because he wasn't footing the bill, Thomas Jones made excessive use of one of the most indulgent substances out there these days -- premium-grade gasoline.

According to Mike Ulrich, Mr. Jones' former employer at BW Wholesale Florist in the Strip District, Mr. Jones pumped thousands of gallons of premium gasoline with a stolen gas card over several months, charging $43,695.16 to the company.

Mr. Jones, 40, of the West End, was arrested last week and charged with theft and criminal conspiracy after Mr. Ulrich said he caught him in the act. His preliminary hearing is today.

Mr. Ulrich said Mr. Jones worked in the warehouse for a couple of months before being fired in November for poor attendance. Mr. Ulrich figures that sometime in December, Mr. Jones slipped into the warehouse at night undetected and swiped a duplicate Pacific Pride fuel card.

The cards, used by businesses for their motor fleets, are used to obtain gasoline at Pacific Pride stations, which then charge the businesses.

For several months, Mr. Ulrich said, Mr. Jones operated under the radar -- $59 here, $49 there.

"Then he just went crazy in June," Mr. Ulrich said.

According to the police affidavit, Mr. Ulrich's bill for the second half of June had more than $15,500 in false charges that he had determined were from Mr. Jones.

"He was filling up everyone's vehicle, whoever he could give a discount to, everyone on the West End," Mr. Ulrich said.

Mr. Ulrich filed a report at the West End police station and after leaving the station, spotted Mr. Jones filling up a white minivan at a Pacific Pride station on West Carson Street with an unidentified man in the driver's seat.

Mr. Ulrich called police, but after he was informed they wouldn't be able to arrive in time, he followed the minivan until the driver dropped Mr. Jones off at his home and left.

Mr. Ulrich then confronted his former employee, saying, "Tom, I know what you did. Get in the truck."

Mr. Jones complied, and Mr. Ulrich drove him to the police station.

Since Mr. Jones was playing gas-pump Santa Claus for his neighborhood, Mr. Ulrich hopes the video cameras at the Pacific Pride station will capture vehicles from other businesses, from which Mr. Ulrich can recoup some of his funds.

He filed a claim with his insurance company and hopes that he will at least be met halfway by Pacific Pride, who Mr. Ulrich says should have a way to identify gas card thievery.

"They really have no security measures in place, like fraud alerts," he said.

"That's something they could add relatively inexpensively to protect their customers."

Cindy Condon, the president of Pacific Pride, was traveling and could not be reached for comment.