Towing group was behind $8.2M in catalytic converter thefts, officials say

MORNING MIX

Towing group was behind $8.2M in catalytic converter thefts, officials say

https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2023/07/03/tdi-towing-catalytic-converter-pennsylvania/

By Kyle Melnick
July 3, 2023 at 11:47 a.m. EDT

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Catalytic converters that authorities say were recovered at a storage unit in Phoenix in 2022. (Phoenix Police Department /AP)

About a year ago, detectives installed a camera and a license plate reader outside a Philadelphia tow yard.

Pennsylvania officers said they were led there by dozens of people accused of stealing catalytic converters from cars. When interviewed by officials, many said they were planning to sell the emission-control devices — which contain rare metals — at the same place: TDI Towing, according to investigators.

Detectives found that TDI Towing’s operator, with help from his employees and family, spent millions of dollars on tens of thousands of catalytic converters and then resold them at a higher price for about three years, Bucks County District Attorney Matt Weintraub said. Now, investigators hope to shut down TDI Towing, he added.

Last week, Weintraub announced that TDI Towing and 11 people allegedly associated with the endeavor had been charged with crimes. The company faces seven charges, including theft, criminal conspiracy and dealing in proceeds of unlawful activity. … An attorney representing TDI Towing and its operator, 52-year-old Michael Williams, did not immediately respond to a request for comment Sunday night.

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