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Justice Department announces takedown of catalytic converter theft ring

justice.gov

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Re: Justice Department announces takedown of catalytic converter theft ring

#221

Post by sokoloff »

renewiltord wrote: post #115
filoleg wrote: post #88

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because that's not what happens with stolen catalytic converters, so it wouldn't change anything. Stolen cathalytic converters are valuable due to precious metals that can be extracted from them.

We currently successfully regulate freon emissions. How do we do that? It surprises me that it's possible but it seems to work.

On the ground, the situation with CFC refrigerants is probably a lot leakier (pun intended) than you think.

There are a lot of AC systems repaired at stations that don't even own a recovery machine. (This is legal, so long as the system has already leaked out to nothing before starting the repair. I suspect that gets a wink and a nod a fair amount of the time.)

Some refrigerants can only be legally sold to resellers or to users with an EPA certification. Sounds strict, huh? Well...the 609 certification test can be done online, is open book, and cost me $25 and 15 minutes to get.

Re: Justice Department announces takedown of catalytic converter theft ring

#222

Post by dragonwriter »

laverya wrote: post #23
genmud wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think that if you paid for your home with criminal activity you should forfeit that to repay the victims of your crimes. If your legal and illegal stuff is together, tough shit.

Right, but they should have to prove that the home was paid for with crime, and not the other way around.

And since the forfeiture sought here is criminal forfeiture, they will have to prove that.

Re: Justice Department announces takedown of catalytic converter theft ring

#223

Post by bcrosby95 »

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…

My mother-in-law's neighborhood has had 5 stolen in the past couple of months. And it isn't that big of a neighborhood. Maybe 50 houses in total?

Re: Justice Department announces takedown of catalytic converter theft ring

#224

Post by tsomctl »

doodlebugging wrote: post #107

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 con…

I've sold lots, some of which were obviously chopped out of vehicles with a sawzall (vehicles that I legally owned, btw). They've always scanned my ID, took my thumb print, and mailed me the check after a couple of days.

Re: Justice Department announces takedown of catalytic converter theft ring

#225

Post by dragonwriter »

DJBunnies wrote: post #22
genmud wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think that if you paid for your home with criminal activity you should forfeit that to repay the victims of your crimes. If your legal and illegal stuff is together, tough shit.

Civil forfeiture is lawless.

> Civil forfeiture is lawless.

Civil forfeiture may be unjust, but it is definitely a product of, and tightly governed by, law.

It is also irrelevant to this case, in which criminal, not civil, forfeiture is sought.

Re: Justice Department announces takedown of catalytic converter theft ring

#227

Post by colechristensen »

rosywoozlechan wrote: post #165
catiopatio wrote: post #160

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It’s gotten considerably worse over the past 20 years; we’re asked to present ID and tracked in government databases when purchasing allergy medicine .

Yes, if you mean pseudoephedrine, that's to stop the production of meth.

Just as a note, this didn't work at all. They came up with a better chemistry and now there's more meth than there was before. Breaking Bad dramatized this aspect of it (though their chemistry wasn't correct on purpose).

Re: Justice Department announces takedown of catalytic converter theft ring

#228

Post by tqi »

catiopatio wrote: post #161
krapht wrote: post #158

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just wait until you hear about the history of anti-fencing laws dating back to the 1600s. You're missing out on centuries of outage.

Ridiculously targeted laws like this are quite a new invention. I see that the “[feeling of] safety above all” contingent is quite voracious about defending this latest government intrusion, so I’ll stop giving them comments to downvote.

Something tells me you're the kind of person who considers both people who prioritize safety more than you and less than you idiots...

Re: Justice Department announces takedown of catalytic converter theft ring

#229

Post by friend_and_foe »

shakezula wrote: post #144
friend_and_foe wrote: post #97

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What's being discussed here is not a revenge killing, you catch someone doing it you're probably not going to gun them down, you're more likely to detain, call police and press charges, or chase them off. But if they come at you with their hacksaw... I think the proper solution to this is that car manufacturers should be required to better secure these things. Putting a thousand dollars or more in such an easy to acc…

The parent comment said > the right to defend property with deadly force. Which is not self-defense. You’re conflating the two and it’s a poor argument for taking a life over an exhaust pipe with some minerals in it. I’ve spent a lot of time under a car and I can tell you I don’t think the solution is bolting the catalytic converter down tighter.

What's the solution then?

Re: Justice Department announces takedown of catalytic converter theft ring

#230

Post by adrr »

User23 wrote: post #211
adrr wrote: post #172

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why was property crime much higher back then? We’re at historic lows. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crime_in_the_United_States

When the cops don’t show up to take a report it doesn’t show up in crime report statistics.

Do you have data backing that up? The data is all FOIA-able like calls to the police department and dispatch data.

There's also insurance claim data which requires a police report.

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