Justice Department announces takedown of catalytic converter theft ring • Hacker News Board

Re: Justice Department announces takedown of catalytic converter theft ring

#101

Post by cogman10 » Thu, Nov 03, 2022, 1:34 AM UTC

grecy wrote: post #53

duskwuff wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

From the press release: > They knowingly purchased stolen catalytic converters and, through a “de-canning” process, extracted the precious metal powders from the catalytic core. DG Auto sold the precious metal powders it processed from California and elsewhere to a metal refinery for over $545 million.

So give the refinery a fine that is 10x their yearly profit, cripple it's leadership and make an "example" out of them. End their business, and make it clear that any metal refinery buying materials that could come from catalytic converters needs to be very, very careful and have extremely good documentation about where it actually comes from. I mean, when you're buying refined precious metal powders from inside the…

DG Auto is a nation wide operation. They aren't sending the contents of the cats over 1 cat at a time.

It's not really reasonable to hold the refinery at fault, they were working with another major business dealing in large numbers.

DG Auto is the right place to hit because they knew they were getting $38 million dollars of cats from 1 family and an unlicensed business (that family is also getting prosecuted).

You wouldn't hold a refinery at fault for smelting down cars they got from a junkyard. They have no reason to suspect the junkyard is sending them stolen goods. Any resell business that deals with individuals is where the pressure belongs.

Re: Justice Department announces takedown of catalytic converter theft ring

#102

Post by mortenjorck » Thu, Nov 03, 2022, 1:34 AM UTC

sergiotapia wrote: post #42

grecy wrote: post #30

I feel like this is exactly like going after ivory poachers instead of the buyers at the other end. Who is creating a market for stolen catalytic converters? Are the precious metals being extracted, melted down and sold? to who and where? Put THOSE people in jail for the rest of their lives and change the setup so there is in incentive for anyone to even steal one in the first place.

"You follow drugs, you get drug addicts and drug dealers. But you start to follow the money, and you don't know where the fuck it's gonna take you."

Perhaps my greatest hope for this world is for The Wire to one day become dated, rather than staying tragically evergreen.

Re: Justice Department announces takedown of catalytic converter theft ring

#103

Post by TheLoafOfBread » Thu, Nov 03, 2022, 1:34 AM UTC

kazinator wrote: post #8

Test0129 wrote: post #4

This is happening more and more frequently in my locale. Several of my friends and many of my neighbors have had their catalytic converters stolen. It's good to see something is done. Let's hope this steamrolls into a nationwide manhunt for these criminals. They should also consider targeting and auditing shops that buy used car parts. Making it extremely difficult to fence these things will be practical and useful b…

It's literally "going out of style". Gotta get all the cat converters you can before all the cars are electric!

Batteries will get stolen for same reason.

Re: Justice Department announces takedown of catalytic converter theft ring

#104

Post by svnpenn » Thu, Nov 03, 2022, 1:35 AM UTC

comex wrote: post #86

svnpenn wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Texas has more than double the licenses of even the second place state (Florida).

Do you mean driver’s licenses? That doesn’t seem relevant if the figure is thefts per 100k automobiles.

https://cbsnews.com/pictures/gun-ownership-rates-by-state/52

Re: Justice Department announces takedown of catalytic converter theft ring

#105

Post by dymk » Thu, Nov 03, 2022, 1:35 AM UTC

rydifyrhffh wrote: post #54

User23 wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It used to be that back when local cops cared about property crime this was standard operating procedure. When I was a kid if you etched a serial number into your bike frame and parts and registered it with the local PD you were practically assured you’d get your bike back when it inevitably showed up at a pawn shop or similar.

I'm curious where you live that they don't still care tbh. In my experience police do what they're allowed that will be effective. But if you have a DA who refuses to prosecute people or you pass local laws that make doing their job in a manner that gets results impossible then they tend not to waste their time.

If the DA doesn’t care, the cop doesn’t care.

Re: Justice Department announces takedown of catalytic converter theft ring

#106

Post by dragonwriter » Thu, Nov 03, 2022, 1:36 AM UTC

beardog wrote: post #5

>The 21 defendants are charged in two separate indictments that were unsealed today in the Eastern District of California and the Northern District of Oklahoma following extensive law enforcement arrest and search operations. In addition to the indictments, over 32 search warrants were executed, and law enforcement seized millions of dollars in assets, including homes, bank accounts, cash, and luxury vehicles. I obvi…

Nope, they are seized as evidence and are also subject to a claim for criminal asset forfeiture contingent on conviction; the criminal forfeiture claims are part of each indictment.

Re: Justice Department announces takedown of catalytic converter theft ring

#107

Post by doodlebugging » Thu, Nov 03, 2022, 1:36 AM UTC

How would one go about legally selling a catalytic converter?

I removed the exhaust from one of my vehicles about 15 years ago when I replaced the worn out engine and have had the old catalytic converter sitting around in my shop ever since.

The catalytic converter came from a 1992 model vehicle. The whole exhaust was replaced with a custom stainless steel exhaust front to back with a 50-state compliant catalytic converter in line from a well-known California supplier.

I intended to run it by the metal recycler several times but never made it and now that theft is such a huge problem I can see where just showing up with one to sell could be a problem.

I still own and drive the vehicle and could probably dig up documentation for the replacement exhaust system.

I'm glad to see a federal effort to stop these thefts. I had to install a cage around my kid's catalytic converter since there were thefts occurring from vehicles on their college campus.

Re: Justice Department announces takedown of catalytic converter theft ring

#108

Post by TEP_Kim_Il_Sung » Thu, Nov 03, 2022, 1:37 AM UTC

rdtwo wrote: post #68

Nullabillity wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

GGP is talking about intentionally killing people. That's murder. Please consider applying the correct word to the context you wish to discuss.

It’s not murder if it’s legal. Just like killing in war isn’t murder. The guy stealing your catalytic converters defiantly deserves it more than the random dude in Iraq.

Don't kill anyone who is not trying to murder you. If you catch someone stealing your catalyst, you use your weapon to deter a violent action of his part, not to stop the theft by murdering him. The fact that he is willing to disregard societal property norms, already flags him as potentially dangerous, s he might enforce his criminal difference of opinion by using violence. That is why security is armed; Not to shoot the sucker in the back as he is absconding with your stuff. Unless your stuff could be used to harm others, then you might be justified in using reasonable force. Always try to de-escalate, but respond in kind.

Re: Justice Department announces takedown of catalytic converter theft ring

#109

Post by midoridensha » Thu, Nov 03, 2022, 1:37 AM UTC

User23 wrote: post #10

Test0129 wrote: post #4

This is happening more and more frequently in my locale. Several of my friends and many of my neighbors have had their catalytic converters stolen. It's good to see something is done. Let's hope this steamrolls into a nationwide manhunt for these criminals. They should also consider targeting and auditing shops that buy used car parts. Making it extremely difficult to fence these things will be practical and useful b…

It used to be that back when local cops cared about property crime this was standard operating procedure. When I was a kid if you etched a serial number into your bike frame and parts and registered it with the local PD you were practically assured you’d get your bike back when it inevitably showed up at a pawn shop or similar.

It's still like that here in Japan: bikes are all registered with the police and have stickers with their registration numbers. When they're stolen (which is usually done by drunk people wanting a quick ride home, or teenagers using them for joyrides) and recovered, the police will bring the bike back to the registered owner. Usually, the best way to avoid theft is to simply lock your bike's rear wheel so it can't be ridden away easily.

Re: Justice Department announces takedown of catalytic converter theft ring

#110

Post by Melting_Harps » Thu, Nov 03, 2022, 1:38 AM UTC

reducesuffering wrote: post #17

This theft is so costly and prevalent in my neighborhood, it's like $2,500 per 100 people. In 2 years, I've had mine stolen twice.

> This theft is so costly and prevalent in my neighborhood, it's like $2,500 per 100 people. In 2 years, I've had mine stolen twice.

Bay area? i thought i was bad in Socal, I had my Gen 2 Prius siting outside a residential area near a major university town while I was away in EU and had mine stolen. I had to junk a decently running hybrid because of this as Toyota had a shortage of them and since the Prius was designed for the California market without the Toyota stamp on the cat its an instant fail for emissions, even if the ppms are within spec with an aftermarket part: no exceptions!

It's literally the most ironic thing I've experienced and I worked in the auto industry and at VW through Diesel gate!

This is so wide-spread and many good cars just ended up in the scrap yard when it was an easy fix to just allow for temp smog exemption, mine still for 40+mpg with worn batteries and thus exceeded most of what is sold on the market now, but because of regulatory capture and how insurance policy works it was the most expedient albeit wasteful solution--this is what I fear AI will bring about in most cases if left to its own devises and unchecked, too. Some made it to neighboring states without this requirement (OR/AZ/NV/CO) but the issue was logistical because you'd need a temp Cat installed to drive to said state, but in early '21 you could get them for I actually pitched this as a to a friend who was having his 1st kid at the time, he offered me funding (mid 5 figures) but I couldn't work with him due to the child so I left the idea and took off to EU instead. I had anticipated and projected healthy returns, $2k/unit after expenses, little did I know it would go to $7k+ per unit as I found my sources for the legwork: 49 state legal cats, mechanics to install, and drivers ready to go (mainly me). It's mainly what I had done at VW after all, logistically speaking.

There was a total parallel economy in shield installs, part/chassis swaps and tracking devises etc... because it got worse not better. I attribute a lot of this to the issue wit unemployment payments, and general lack of help for those during covid people got desperate and would probably be foisted into this easier than before.