For Arrested Ringleader, Stealing Catalytic Converters Is Full-Time Job, Police Say

Seven members of an organized theft crew were arrested yesterday and charged in connection with stealing catalytic converters from more than 470 vehicles in Massachusetts and New Hampshire. For the alleged ringleader, theft was a full-time job, prosecutors said.

More than 70 local police departments from across New England contributed to the investigation. Law enforcement used surveillance footage, communications and location monitoring data obtained from the defendants’ cell phones and the ringleader’s vehicle to identify the thefts that they estimate represent $2 million in losses.

The seven defendants — males ages 26 to 37 from western Massachusetts — were arraigned in federal court in Boston. The details contained in the charging documents are allegations. The defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

Catalytic converters are targeted for theft due to the high value of their metals, some of which are more valuable per ounce than gold. Black-market prices can be more than $1,000 each.

According to the court documents, law enforcement identified a large number of catalytic converter thefts that involved a maroon Acura. These incidents in 2022 and 2023 involved at least two suspects wearing dark clothing who would target residential and commercial vehicles.

The suspects were able to locate and cut away the catalytic converter from a vehicle within a minute in most instances utilizing a battery operated reciprocating saw. They allegedly used a jack to raise some vehicles to access the catalytic converters. After they cut the catalytic converter, they would stow it in the rear of the maroon Acura and move on.

Prosecutors contend that, on numerous occasions, they targeted more than 10 vehicles in a single night, with one night reporting thefts from 26 vehicles.

According to police, the defendants were allegedly involved in the thefts from at least 470 vehicles across Massachusetts and New Hampshire in 2022 and 2023 alone. Police said they believe “a significant number of additional thefts” have not been identified or were not ever reported to law enforcement.

The investigation revealed that the maroon Acura belonged to Rafael Davila, a/k/a “Robin Hood,” 35, of Feeding Hills, who prosecutors allege to be the theft crew leader who planned and participated in each of the thefts. Prosecutors allege that Davila engages in catalytic converter thefts and burglaries on a full-time basis, committing thefts multiple nights per week for upwards of eight hours a night.

Additionally, cell phone data allegedly revealed that Davila maintained meticulous notes accounting for the locations they targeted and the number of catalytic converters stolen, including the makes and models and when they were dropped off.

Law enforcement believes Davila would undertake the thefts with a group of individuals including his brother. Davila was allegedly responsible for the planning of and transportation to each targeted theft – using his vehicle, determining price values for stolen converters, and purchasing needed materials including saw blades designed to be used with a reciprocating power saw as well as cut-resistant gloves.

New Massachusetts Law Aims to Thwart Catalytic Converter Thieves

Once they had the stolen catalytic converters, the crew would then allegedly sell them to a buyer, who would accumulate them from multiple theft crews and then in turn sell them to scrap dealers. In particular, this defendant allegedly sold stolen catalytic converters to scrap dealers who have since been charged federally for interstate transportation of stolen property and money laundering, including Downpipe Depot charged in Connecticut and DG Auto, a New Jersey based company charged in California and Oklahoma.

This Massachusetts defendant buyer is alleged to have transacted approximately $30,000 to $80,000 in stolen catalytic converters per week to these entities. This buyer also allegedly provided prices to Davila and other theft crews based of the make and model of the vehicle and by the code on the catalytic converter. Knowing the prices of the most valuable converters, Davila and his crew would seek out those makes and models to target.

Nationwide Catalytic Converter Theft Ring Taken Down in Raid

According to the National Insurance Crime Bureau, the number of catalytic converter thefts reported in claims to insurance companies jumped from 3,389 in 2019 to 14,433 in 2020 and continued to rise significantly during the pandemic. The increase in thefts has prompted some states, including Massachusetts, to toughen penalties and impose new requirements for scrap metal dealers who buy the converters.

The vehicle history service CARFAX claims there were as many as 153,000 catalytic converters stolen in 2022, far more than earlier estimates. CARFAX said its data scientists reviewed millions of service and maintenance records to arrive at this number.

In addition to the catalytic converter thefts, several of the defendants in the court in Boston were also charged in connection with thefts from automatic teller machines, allegedly using stolen trucks to rip the ATMs from the ground and gain access to the vault, and from jewelry stores. The jewelry store thefts totaled more $137,000, officials said.

Insurers Report Jump in Catalytic Converter Thefts; New State Laws May Help

Seventy local police departments in Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Connecticut contributed to the investigation through the submission of their investigations of catalytic converter thefts in their jurisdiction. The Massachusetts police departments contributing to the investigation were Abington, Acton, Andover, Auburn, Bedford, Bellingham, Beverly, Billerica, Burlington, Bridgewater, Canton, Carver, Chelmsford, Concord, Cranston, East Hampton, Easton, Fitchburg, Framingham, Franklin, Hampton, Hanover, Haverhill, Hingham, Holliston, Holyoke, Hudson, Ipswich, Lawrence, Leominster, Lynn, Malden, Medford, Marlborough, Methuen, Middleton, Milford, Millbury, Newton, Northborough, Norwell, Norwood, Peabody, Pembroke, Plymouth, Randolph, Rockland, Sharon, Shrewsbury, Springfield, Sterling, Sturbridge, Sudbury, Tyngsborough, Walpole, Waltham, Watertown, West Bridgewater, Weymouth, Wilmington, Woburn and Worcester. The New Hampshire police departments were Bow, Concord, Derry, Hooksett, Hudson, Londonderry, Manchester, Salem and Windham. The Connecticut police departments were South Windsor and Windsor.

The U.S. Attorney for Massachusetts Rachael S. Rollins, FBI, Massachusetts State Police, and the National Insurance Crime Bureau made the arrest announcement. They cited assistance provided by the U.S. Attorneys for Connecticut, Oklahoma and the District of California; Homeland Security; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives; and the Plymouth County District Attorney’s Office.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Philip A. Mallard of Rollins’ office is prosecuting the case.

Source: U.S. Attorney for Massachusetts