"Crew" specializing in catalytic converter thefts busted after stealing 470 of them

[beschizza]

Originally published at: "Crew" specializing in catalytic converter thefts busted after stealing 470 of them | Boing Boing

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[Surprise_Puma]

The Fast and Furious crew is really phoning it in for this sequel.

[gracchus]

I’ll bet some sleazy scrap dealers are soiling themselves in fear this morning.

[joed]

Good.

We had ours stolen a few months back - 2002 Prius with 190K miles on it.

Cost more to replace the converter than the car’s blue-book value. Still cheaper than a new car…

I installed a shield on it. If you drive a hybrid, I highly recommend installing one.

[ElQuesero]

[BakerB]

I was wondering how they knew just how many convertors had been stolen.

[Brainspore]

If we take the prosecutors’ numbers at face value, $2 Million spread out across 470 people only works out to an average of $4,255 bucks a perp, and most of them would be getting a far smaller share then that.

Hardly seems worth it given the time, effort and risk involved.

ETA: oops, misread the excerpt.

[jerwin]

@beschizza

The angle-ground revenues top $2m, say prosecutors.

I know it’s much harder to calculate, but what were the costs to replace and repair the missing converters?

[Otherbrother]

@Brainspore

If we take the prosecutors’ numbers at face value, $2 Million spread out across 470 people only works out to an average of $4,255 bucks a perp

Per the article it was seven people, not 470 people. And “over 470 vehicles.”

Seven members of an organized theft crew were arrested today and charged in federal court in Boston in connection with thefts across the region, including catalytic converters stolen from over 470 vehicles

Also, per the prosecutors, the crimes caused about $2m in losses, but I’m sure they took in far, far less than that in revenue from the scrap dealers.

[Brainspore]

Oh yeah that was a total misread on my part.

[joed]

It cost us around $1,500.

Plus another $300 for the shield.