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After investigation lead by Bucks County officials for over a year, Bucks County District Attorney Matt Weintraub, detailed how law enforcement officials were able to bust a multimillion dollar catalytic converter theft ring.
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According to NBC10, the illegal operation ring was housed at TDI Towing, located along the 2300 block of Wheatsheaf Lane in Philadelphia’s Port Richmond neighborhood.
The leader of this operation was Michael Williams, 52, of Philadelphia, and owner of TDI Towing.
Williams is cooperating with authorities ‘Candidly, because we caught him red-handed,’ says DA Matt Weintraub.
According to Weintraub, at the height of its operation, the criminal theft ring was buying about 175 catalytic converters a week — for around $300 each. After calculating the duration of their illegal operation, Weintraub says TDI Towing was likely involved in the buying and reselling of over 25,000 likely stolen catalytic converters for a total of about $8.2 million in loss to victims targeted by the thefts.
A catalytic converter assists in filtering harmful chemicals out of a vehicle’s exhaust. Catalytic converters can become expensive, as rhodium, platinum and palladium, three chemicals in a converter, have significant resale value.
Source: Bilal photos / Getty
Weintraub’s punishment for TDI towing was simple, shut down operations. “Our goal – to put them out of business,” Weintraub said of the investigation. “A corporate death sentence.”
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Delco Detectives Dismantle Ring That Made Millions from Catalytic Converter Thefts was originally published on rnbphilly.com
