Authorities Bust Theft Operation Targeting Catalytic Converters: The Bucks County District Attorney stated that TDI Towing, a Pennsylvania tow truck company, was responsible for a multimillion-dollar “organised criminal enterprise that specialised in the theft of catalytic converters throughout the Delaware Valley region.”
TDI allegedly paid at least $10,000 to the criminals who brought in stolen catalytic converters every night. The district attorney’s office stated in a press release, “On some nights, there were 30 transactions, with some thieves appearing multiple times.” Multiple times, TDI Towing spent $1,000 on a single converter.
According to the DA, TDI paid $300 per unit on average. This practise reportedly lasted three years, during which 175 catalytic converters were delivered each week. In November 2022, Attorney General Merrick B. Garland ordered the execution of 32 search warrants and the arrest of 21 individuals as part of a nationwide raid in response to a surge of catalytic converter theft crimes that appeared to have spread across the country since the outbreak.
In February, proposals to serialise catalytic converters and strengthen punishments for theft were introduced in both houses of Congress following the alleged disruption of a $100 million theft conspiracy. Rhodium, platinum, and palladium are the three most frequently used metals in catalytic converters, and their prices surged during the epidemic due to supply chain disruptions.
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Authorities Bust Theft Operation Targeting Catalytic Converters at Towing Company
Due to the high volume of catalytic converter burglaries, the district attorney of Bucks County stated that his office “began to focus not only on individual thieves, or ‘cutters,’ but also on organisations or businesses purchasing the stolen” components. Authorities reported that TDI appeared to be operating routinely throughout the day. Nonetheless, a video produced by the DA purports to show a heated, stolen catalytic converter being delivered to the business at night.
“This catalytic converter was stolen so recently that it was still too hot to handle,” District Attorney Matt Weintraub of Bucks County told local media.
While we have observed an increase in questionable towing procedures and fees, a review of roughly a dozen cases revealed no thefts of this nature. “TDI Towing was registered with the state as Diversified Towing & Recovery Inc., but was also listed in business documents as TDI Inc. and Tow Decisions,” according to the district attorney.
The District Attorney stated that the majority of defendants were either employees or relatives of Michael Williams, the proprietor of TDI, who was indicted on multiple felony charges. The district attorney claimed that one of the alleged “cutters” worked for TDI during the day, but had “several open warrants” for the theft of catalytic converters in Bucks County, evading capture by continually returning to Philadelphia.
Action News on the 6abc Network Sai-Tuesday, the Bucks County District Attorney’s Office filed charges against eleven individuals and a Philadelphia towing company in connection with a multimillion-dollar catalytic converter theft conspiracy.
A second TDI employee was found guilty of stealing 22 catalytic converters, but he failed to appear for sentencing. On June 16, 2021, a TDI thief was allegedly captured red-handed stealing a catalytic converter, according to the district attorney. Nevertheless, the thief’s getaway driver intentionally drove towards the detective, collided with a stationary vehicle, and then fled. “If the detective had not moved, he would have been pinned between the two vehicles,” the district attorney wrote.
Following a nearly year-long investigation, the district attorney has filed charges against TDI along with ten adults and one juvenile.
Richard Page is the only defendant who has not yet been prosecuted, and the county is requesting the public’s help to locate him. According to reports, Page’s left hand is missing digits.
