A Philadelphia towing company, its owner and employees are accused of running a catalytic converter ring that paid over $8 million for the stolen car parts from 2020 to 2023.
Four thieves have also been charged and accused of stealing converters later sold to the towing company.
Charges against TDI Towing and other defendants were announced by the Bucks County District Attorney’s Office in Pennsylvania Tuesday.
Catalytic converters are valuable because they contain the precious metals rhodium, platinum and palladium. Thieves steal converters from vehicles and sell them to intermediaries, who in turn sell them to people who can process the metals into powder with a process called decanning. The powder is then sold to metal refineries.
The average cost to consumers to repair a stolen catalytic converter, a necessary component for adhering to emissions standards, is around $2,000.
From 2020 to this year, thousands of converters were stolen out of Bucks County, plus other Delaware Valley jurisdictions, including New Jersey and Pennsylvania’s Montgomery and Delaware counties and Philadelphia.
Investigators accuse TDI Towing of being the main buyer of stolen converters in the area. Operating as a towing business by day, the yard played host to thieves selling their stolen goods by night. Law enforcement claims one converter was even taken from a vehicle right outside the yard.
On average, the Bucks County DA claims, TDI Towing employees Michael Bruce, Eric Simpson, Kevin Schwartz, Patrick Hopkins, Lisa Davalos and a 17-year-old initialed M.E. were buying 175 converters a week at around $300 a pop — about 27,300 in total costing $8 million over the four years.
The company, workers and owner Michael Williams are charged with corrupt organization, criminal conspiracy, dealing in unlawful proceeds, theft by unlawful taking, theft of catalytic converters, theft by receiving stolen property, possession of an instrument of crime, and criminal use of a communication facility.
Mr. Williams was released with a GPS monitor on $15,000 bail.
• Brad Matthews can be reached at bmatthews@washingtontimes.com.