Bucks County DA announces bust of $8.2 million catalytic converter theft ring

More than two dozen law enforcement agencies from across Pennsylvania and New Jersey joined forces to dismantle a catalytic converter theft ring based in Philadelphia that stole millions of dollars worth of the automobile parts, authorities said Tuesday.

Bucks County District Attorney Matt Weintraub said at a news conference that his office had charged 10 adults, one juvenile, and a Philadelphia tow yard for running a sprawling operation that stole around 2,000 of the exhaust emission devices in the region.

TDI Towing of Port Richmond was the main buyer of the stolen catalytic converters, he said. The tow yard paid thieves about $300 for each device and bought an average of 175 catalytic converters per week, said Weintraub.

From 2020 to 2023, TDI Towing purchased an estimated 27,300 catalytic converters for a total of $8.2 million, he said.

TDI Towing owner Michael Williams, 52, whom Weintraub dubbed the “kingpin” of the operation, was charged with counts including criminal conspiracy, dealing in proceeds of unlawful activity, and related crimes. His business faces similar charges.

Also charged with those crimes were a group of his employees including “cutters,” who sheared the catalytic converters from cars to steal them. Many of Williams’ employees were related to him, authorities said.

Charging the company was a first for his office, said Weintraub, and he said he hoped that would serve as a deterrent for other organizations that might seek to commit similar crimes.

“Our goal? To put them out of business. Forever,” he said. “A corporate death sentence.”

The tow yard was the base of operations for the theft ring, authorities said. There, in images captured on surveillance footage, Weintraub said, thieves were at one point seen cutting a catalytic converter from underneath one car and cooling off another still-hot converter in a puddle of water — a process that he said investigators repeatedly observed during the course of their yearlong investigation.

The automobile parts often have hefty price tags because of the resale value of the precious and rare metals they are comprised of: platinum, palladium, and rhodium, Weintraub said. Thieves sell the parts, which are often melted down to extract the metals and sold for a profit, he said.

Philadelphia police assisted in the investigation, along with investigators from Montgomery and Delaware Counties.

Philadelphia Deputy Commissioner Frank Vanore said catalytic converter thefts are a persistent problem in the city — one that officers would continue to target..

”We’re going to continue to work. We’re going to see where the arms of this reach,” he said. “This is a message to them that we’re coming after you.”

Anyone with information about the theft ring is asked to contact Bucks County Detectives at 215.348.6344 or via bucksda.org.