Police spent eight months investigating a car parts theft ring that was busted and those involved faced a judge on Monday. Evidence showed the theft ring’s leader paid out millions while running the operation which preyed on drug users. NBC10’s Deanna Durante has the details.
Several men involved in a multimillion-dollar catalytic converter theft ring out of Bucks County were sentenced to jail on Monday.
The leader of that theft ring, Michael Williams, 52 and the owner of TDI Towing, was sentenced to two and a half to five years in prison.
“I think we got to see on the videos who he was when he didn’t know he was being recorded,” Prosecutor Edward Furman said.
Williams' sons in laws were also a part of the operation and were sentenced to a minimum of nine months in jail for their part in stealing from hundreds of victims over a two-year period.
Get top local stories in Philly delivered to you every morning. >Sign up for NBC Philadelphia's News Headlines newsletter.
Prosecutor Furman said that Williams' operation preyed on drug addicts who were looking to make quick money and used them to steal the parts.
“Our position was that he was preying on people that were in the throes of addiction. He knew that they were looking for cheap, easy money and he was their source of it,” Furman said.
Williams' lawyer says his client isn’t a bad guy he just had a rough childhood; however, prosecutors say without Williams’ operation there would not be hundreds of victims out there.
Local
Breaking news and the stories that matter to your neighborhood.
“Michael was a person who was raised a certain way, wanted to take care of his friends, wanted to take care of his community. I’m not saying that led to these offenses, but certainly we thought it should have been more of a consideration to the court,” Coley Reynolds, Williams's defense attorney, said.
Williams will have to pay more than $100,000 in restitution. He told the court he had to sell his house to pay for a lawyer.
Inside the courtroom, the men pleaded for leniency, and for the present sentences to be delayed until after Christmas. The judge complied with the request so Williams and his son in-laws will report to serve their sentence on January 3, 2025.
Catalytic converter theft ring bust in 2023
The ring operated out of TDI Towing, located along the 2300 block of Wheatsheaf Lane in Philadelphia's Port Richmond neighborhood.
Since 2020, 2,000 catalytic converters had been reportedly stolen throughout Bucks County.
These items -- which help filter harmful chemicals out of a vehicle's exhaust -- can fetch a fair price as, he said, three chemicals in a converter, rhodium, platinum and palladium, have significant resale value.
At the height of its operation, Bucks County District Attorney Matt Weintraub said this criminal theft ring was buying 175 catalytic converters a week -- at a price of about $300 each.
The district attorney said that, over that time, that means TDI Towing was likely involved in the buying and reselling of over 25,000 likely stolen catalytic converters for a total of about $8.2 million in loss to victims targeted by the thefts.
"Our goal - to put them out of business," Weintraub said of the investigation. "A corporate death sentence."
He said that, through this investigation, along with Williams, officials charged nine other adults, and one juvenile, for their alleged roles in a theft ring.
Sign up for our Breaking newsletter to get the most urgent news stories in your inbox.
