The federal court records further note that “the theft of catalytic converters has become increasingly popular because of their value, relative ease to steal, and their lack of identifying markings.” “Catalytic-converter theft has become a nationwide problem across multitudes of states, local and federal jurisdictions,” Rollins said, adding that as of Monday, rhodium was going for $8,200 an ounce, platinum $1,022 and palladium around $1,500. The converters, which federal environmental laws require on fuel-powered cars, contain palladium, platinum, and rhodium - metals that sell for sizeable profits on the black market and can be used in electronics, authorities said.īonavolonta described the market for such materials as “exploding,” in part following the supply-chain issues in the past couple of years. Torres, also known as “Goldy Tech,” owned a company registered as “Scrapguys413″ that advertised itself as buying catalytic converters and junk cars. She said they sometimes target trucks because it’s even easier to cut their converters out since they don’t need to be jacked up.Ĭourt documents allege that Torres was the middleman who would sell the stolen items to “core buyers” out of state.
“These videos depict the skill and speed with which these individuals could jack up a vehicle and cut the catalytic converter out,” Rollins said. At the press conference, she presented several of the catalytic converters and a looping video montage of some of the alleged thefts, including some from various vehicles and other smash-and-grab scenes from jewelry stores. Rollins compared the “cutters” - as she said this genre of thief is called - to a “NASCAR pit crew” in their efficiency, sometimes taking less than a minute to get the part out from the bottom of a vehicle.
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Often, the car had different license plates, and the FBI says Davila stole several.ĭavila, according to court documents, wrote in a text to an unidentified person that “I use my truck and my plate, I do all the planning, all the driving, charge batteries, buy material, I make sure we have what we need and I help you when I can running around.” Court documents state he extensively researched the respective values of different cars’ catalytic converters to figure out which would be most worth his while. The federal investigation that the US Attorney’s office eventually would dub “Operation Cut & Run” fixated on Davila after FBI agents figured out his maroon Acura was at the scene of at least 470 of the thefts across Massachusetts and New Hampshire, court documents state. “According to the Cryptanalysis and Racketeering Records Unit, DAVILA’s note files include at least 362 entries that reference approximately 1,755 catalytic converters for a total value of at least $572,495.”įBI Boston Special Agent in Charge Joseph Bonavolonta described Davila as “extremely organized.” “ detailed the extensive criminal conspiracy that he orchestrated,” the FBI wrote in an affidavit. Rollins said Davila’s “meticulous notes” provided a roadmap for authorities to tie the thefts together.
Rafael Davila, also known as “Robbin Hood,” was the ringleader of the Western Massachusetts-based crew, according to federal authorities. State Police said troopers on Wednesday seized seven guns, six cars, seven motorcycles, two jet skis, a boat and more than 20 stolen catalytic converters from the sites connected to the crew.
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