A lifestyle of excess built on an empire of stolen catalytic converters has taken a final exhausted breath. The ring leader of a multi-state crime ring has pleaded guilty to overseeing the theft and resale of more than $600 million worth of the pivotal auto part known for its precious earth metals.
According to a U.S. Department of Justice press release, the 41-year-old man is the owner and operator of the New Jersey-based D.G. Auto Parts. This wasn’t just another small-time auto parts store, though. Federal prosecutors say the car parts dealer that operated out of an innocuous business park was just a front for a criminal enterprise that trafficked hundreds of stolen goods. Per the DOJ:
From May 2020 through October 2022, [he] conspired with others to purchase and transport large quantities of stolen catalytic converters from Oklahoma, Texas, and other states to New Jersey. [He] admitted to receiving more than $600 million by reselling the stolen catalytic converters to a metal refinery that extracted the precious metals.
After receiving the catalytic converters, the man admitted to taking them to a local recycler, says NBC New York:
In a plea agreement filed in U.S. District Court in Tulsa, [he] said, “After purchasing these catalytic converters, I resold most of them to Dowa Metals & Mining, a metal refinery, which would then extract the powdered precious metals.”…
Dowa Metals is a subsidiary of Japan-based Dowa Holdings Co., which is a component of the Nikkei 225 stock market index. The company has not been charged in connection with [this] case.
More than 20 individuals have been identified and charged for their involvement in the nationwide scheme, including the crime boss’ parents. NJ.com reports that after his arrest in 2022, his parents and three brothers continued to manage the illegal activities in his absence. All have since been arrested as well.
The DOJ says 13 co-defendants are awaiting sentencing following their own guilty pleas given to the federal court in the Northern District of Oklahoma, although the crimes occurred from coast to coast. NBC New York added insight into how the large-scale criminal operation was finally caught:
[The crime ring] was exposed after police in Tulsa, Oklahoma, discovered nearly 130 catalytic converters in the bed of a truck they stopped in May 2021, after an off-duty officer reported suspicions about the vehicle.
That stop came during a nationwide surge of thefts in catalytic converters, which are part of the exhaust systems of automobiles, and which contain precious metals including platinum, palladium and rhodium.
As part of their plea deals, the co-defendants agreed to relinquish more than $3.2 million, two lots of land in Oklahoma, numerous cars, and the stolen converters seized during the investigation. Of course, the bossman has to forfeit so much more. The DOJ says that includes:
…almost $4 million in cash, 11 luxury vehicles — including a Lamborghini, two Mercedes AMGs, two Ferraris, a McLaren, a Porsche, a Ford F650 Truck, and a BMW M3 — real estate properties, high-end jewelry, gold bars, and over 200 pallets of catalytic converters, all seized by law enforcement during the execution of search warrants at [his] properties.
Whew. That’s a lot of nice stuff. But now gone. *Poof*
The New Jersey crime boss was also indicted by a federal grand jury in the Eastern District of California, which is where his final sentencing will be transferred to. There, he’ll be prosecuted for additional crimes and faces a maximum penalty of 168 to 210 months behind bars. Car owners can then breathe easy, at least for the next 14-18 years or so.
Top graphic image: Tahamie Farooqui/Pexels
Imagine how many sawzalls him and his ring have gone through
So can they tie him to Johny Wactor‘s killing or was he already behind bars by then ?
I just sold the junk catalytic converter off of my 2006 Nissan Frontier king cab 4 cylinder (i had to replace it last year) got a whole $20, and I had to bring the vehicle title and a blood, urine and stool sample (just kidding on the last three) I am pretty sure they shafted me on the scrap price as it’s a captive audience.
As someone who grew up in NJ, I’m 0% surprised this was based in Jersey.
I agree with those here who call for a harsh punishment and a proper investigation of the metal recycler. There should also be harsh punishments for people deliberately delete their own cats too. Maybe not prison time, but a proper deterrent fine and enforcement. The fine should be something like 20% of the value of the vehicle, so rich dipshits who do this will feel it too.
Aww, from the graphic I thought this was an update on David Tracy’s Jeep Kittens.
If he contributed to a certain campaign he may be pardoned before sentencing.
One of my former acquaintances can tell you exactly how many boxes of Sudafed you can get for a converter stolen from a 2006 Kia Optima V6. Not sure how that adds to this story here.
How could no one at Dowa be held responsible? This smells like a RICO case to me.
To believe the problem is solved nation-wide is unrealistic.
Are you seriously asking?
My truck was parked in a lot that got hit in 2021. Mine along with 5 or 6 other car’s got stolen. To their credit, they DID unplug the rear 02 sensor instead of cutting the wires. I do wish they had left the sensor though, it was only a few months old.
I managed to accumulate a pile of about 15 cats over the years, and ended up getting the best price by shipping them to some guy in NJ, they even paid the shipping. Probably this guy in fact. I just had to take a pic of each cat and send it to them, they texted me back a price. I shipped them off, they paid quickly. They were all legitimately acquired on my end – they were from repairs and scrapped cars.
Uh huh.
How much per cat?
It ranged from around $5 for an old GM big cat to over $100 for some cats for an Audi 5000.
So this guy gets busted by the feds who clearly have a very good understanding of how the system works, and the rest of the family just keeps it plugging along, figuring that the cops won’t notice? Those folks aren’t real bright.
They did get caught hauling stolen catalytic converters in the open bed of a pickup truck and stored gold bars where they could easily be found and confiscated.
There was a ‘scrap metal dealer’ in a business park near where I work, it was a tiny little place with no loading dock and the sketchiest people wandering in and out. Imagine my surprise when it turned out to be a front for a catalytic theft buyer. they found something like eleven seacans ready to be shipped full of cats.
That’s the best opening line I’ve read here in a while 🙂
True! But why no “Cat Burglar Nabbed” for the topshot as well??
This guy can rot in there for all I care. I hope charges are coming to many more people and companies. I’m also not sure why we can’t get this under control as a country. This affects insurance rates, the working poor that can’t afford to fix this damage to their car, and the environment. I hope he is housed with a lot of people that had their cats stolen.
Somehow I doubt catalytic converter thieves are targeted by other inmates.
unless the inmate was caught robbing a 7-11 to replace his stolen cat
All the guy needs to do is send Trump the crypto equivalent of the fines the DOJ says they will impose, and he can have a pardon and get back to doing all the crime.
No no, not crime. BUSINESS. He’s a business man, not a criminal.
My bad! I forgot which shitty timeline I was in.
Only 17 years?
They should sit in jail for 17 years for each cat, F these people.
He’ll likely be out in 5 or 6 for good behavior.
Not in the federal judicial system.
Current statutes state if you’re convicted by the Feds you have to serve 80 to 100 percent of the sentence. And for something like this plea deal or not the Justice Department likes to make examples of criminals. Especially if you’re charged with running a criminal enterprise.
Who’s this recycler that doesn’t wonder “hmm how does this guy have millions of dollars of cats to recycle”
I call shenanigans on this part. Everyone involved up and down the chain should be held accountable.
“Dowa Metals is a subsidiary of Japan-based Dowa Holdings Co., has not been charged in connection with [this] case.”
That would involve proving knowledge and intent. Not an easy thing to do unless the main players are willing to make a deal.
Possession of stolen property is a crime. At a certain point, maybe after the thousandth cat and no other metals, you make a call and report it.
But honestly, it should have been illegal to sell them without providing ownership, a long time ago.
Everyone needs to be held accountable – that means Dowa metal processing as well.
These crimes disproportionately impacted lower income folks that parked older vehicles on the street.
Everyone in this entire “supply chain” from the thief’s to those corporations buying the refined platinum and palladium should be held accountable.
My first thought: “how on earth does a guy take that many catalytic converters to a ‘recycler’ at a time when everyone in North America knows they’re being stolen without that recycler being in on it?”
Then I saw the parent to Dowa Metals and Mining is a $4B business. I’m more sure of it now…I don’t think you can hide $600M in a $4B business.
Plausible deniability
They’ll be out in a few years due to overcrowding and/or good behavior as non-violent offenders. Maybe they have some money hidden away they can buy a pardon with.
This isn’t state court/DOC, this is Federal. Federal inmates serve 85% of the time they are sentenced to.
So they’ll just buy a pardon and serve 0% of the time they are sentenced to.
Doesn’t work like that with the Feds.
Of course it does. Federal crimes are the only ones a President can pardon. Send a little cryptocurrency to Mar-A-Lago with a note about how MAGA you are and you’ll be free from any Federal crime.
I wouldn’t put any money on that.
Crypto or otherwise.
Personally for what this assclown and his associates did,the Feds should take a page out of the Singapore playbook and cane their butts until they’re black and blue.
This is one of the reasons why insurance rates on some vehicles are so damn high!
17 years? That’s it?
Meow.
Cat burglar! Dumb kitten forgot his mittens, left his paw prints all over the place.
Its a start.
Now as part of the sentencing every one of the maggots involved should be awoken each and every day with an uncatalyzed, unmuffled motor just on the other side of the bars.
… and the exhaust piped into their cells.
Just enough to trigger a raging headache though, not enough to put them back to sleep.
I support everything about this.
Of course I was once known to jokingly suggest force-feeding people Slurpees to repeatedly induce brain-freeze as a means of interrogation…
As enhanced interrogation goes that’s not so bad.