Led by Rafael Davila, a 35-year-old from Springfield suburb Feeding Hills, the thieves could jack up a vehicle and saw off its catalytic converter in as little as a minute, federal prosecutors said
A prolific catalytic converter theft ring that hit hundreds of cars in Massachusetts and New Hampshire was busted Wednesday, federal authorities announced.
The seven members of the alleged ring were arrested on a slew of charges, accused of stealing the valuable car parts from more than 470 vehicles, causing about $2 million in losses for the vehicles' owners, as well as stealing ATMs and from jewelry stores, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Massachusetts.
WATCH ANYTIME FOR FREE
 |
Stream NBC10 Boston news for free, 24/7, wherever you are. |
Led by Rafael Davila, a 35-year-old from Springfield suburb Feeding Hills known also as "Robin Hood," the thieves could jack up a vehicle and saw off its catalytic converter in as little as a minute, hitting more than 10 in one night on multiple occasions and, on one night, a total of 26, prosecutors said.
U.S. Attorney Rachael Rollins and members of the FBI, Massachusetts State Police and National Insurance Crime Bureau made the announcement at the Moakley Federal Courthouse in Boston.
Get updates on what's happening in Boston to your inbox. Sign up for our News Headlines newsletter.
Catalytic converters are found on the underside of cars, and are commonly targeted by thieves because of the valuable metals they contain, such as platinum.
Having them stolen "effectively leaves these vehicles disabled," Rollins said.
Davila, his brother and five other men were due in federal court to face the charges Wednesday afternoon. It wasn't immediately clear if they had attorneys who could speak to their arrests.
Investigators began to tie together catalytic converter thefts in Massachusetts and New Hampshire because a maroon-colored Acura was spotted in the area. At least two people would quickly cut out the converter from under the vehicle, put it in the Acura's trunk and leave, prosecutors said.
The car was found to belong to Davila, prosecutors said, calling him a full-time thief working up to eight hours per night. He allegedly kept detailed notes on where and when his crew worked and what kinds of vehicles they stole from.
The group then sold the stolen converters to Jose Torres, a 37-year-old from Springfield, who sold them to the tune of $30,000-$80,000 per week to scrappers in Connecticut, Rhode Island, New York and New Jersey, prosecutors said.
The 471 Massachusetts and New Hampshire catalytic converter thefts over the last year that investigators directly connected to the ring are listed below, but they noted that the crew may have been responsible for more catalytic converter thefts that weren't reported or noticed:
| Date | Location | Number of Vehicles Stolen From |
| 3/7/2022 | Sturbridge, Mass. | 6 |
| 3/8/2022 | Milford, Mass. | 8 |
| 3/10/2022 | Norwell, Mass. | 5 |
| 3/25/2022 | Wilmington, Mass. | 6 |
| 3/27/2022 | Millbury, Mass. | 22 |
| 5/5/2022 | Leominster, Mass. | 10 |
| 5/10/2022 | Holliston, Mass. | 10 |
| 5/12/2022 | Norwood, Mass. | 11 |
| 5/12/2022 | Walpole, Mass. | 3 |
| 5/12/2022 | Sharon, Mass. | 7 |
| 5/17/2022 | Randolph, Mass. | 12 |
| 5/19/2022 | Watertown, Mass. | 1 |
| 5/19/2022 | Medford, Mass. | 14 |
| 5/19/2022 | Malden, Mass. | 6 |
| 7/21/2022 | Lynn, Mass. | 3 |
| 7/21/2022 | Wilmington, Mass. | 12 |
| 7/26/2022 | Easton, Mass. | 6 |
| 7/28/2022 | Norwood, Mass. | 2 |
| 7/28/2022 | Woburn, Mass. | 3 |
| 8/4/2022 | Beverly, Mass. | 2 |
| 8/16/2022 | Woburn, Mass. | 26 |
| 8/18/2022 | Carver, Mass. | 2 |
| 8/18/2022 | Plymouth, Mass. | 6 |
| 8/23/2022 | Canton, Mass. | 3 |
| 8/25/2022 | Middleton, Mass. | 1 |
| 8/30/2022 | Peabody, Mass. | 3 |
| 8/30/2022 | Waltham, Mass. | 10 |
| 9/1/2022 | Hingham, Mass. | 3 |
| 9/1/2022 | Norwell, Mass. | 1 |
| 9/6/2022 | Easton, Mass. | 1 |
| 9/8/2022 | Chelmsford, Mass. | 1 |
| 9/13/2022 | Hanover, Mass. | 1 |
| 9/13/2022 | Hingham, Mass. | 2 |
| 9/13/2022 | Pembroke, Mass. | 12 |
| 9/15/2022 | Bellingham, Mass. | 2 |
| 9/15/2022 | Franklin, Mass. | 5 |
| 9/15/2022 | Hudson, Mass. | 6 |
| 9/20/2022 | Sudbury, Mass. | 1 |
| 9/21/2022 | Wilmington, Mass. | 5 |
| 9/22/2022 | Woburn, Mass. | 5 |
| 10/2/2022 | Ipswich, Mass. | 10 |
| 10/2/2022 | Methuen, Mass. | 8 |
| 10/2/2022 | Billerica, Mass. | 10 |
| 10/4/2022 | Londonderry, NH | 13 |
| 11/24/2022 | Hooksett, NH | 14 |
| 11/27/2022 | Wilmington, Mass. | 10 |
| 11/27/2022 | Millbury, Mass. | 3 |
| 12/6/2022 | Bow, NH | 1 |
| 12/6/2022 | Concord, NH | 14 |
| 12/21/2022 | Manchester, NH | 1 |
| 12/29/2022 | Easthampton, Mass. | 2 |
| 12/29/2022 | Holyoke, Mass. | 1 |
| 1/5/2023 | Framingham, Mass. | 9 |
| 1/9/2023 | Worcester, Mass. | 13 |
| 1/19/2023 | Fitchburg, Mass. | 8 |
| 1/19/2023 | Leominster, Mass. | 1 |
| 1/26/2023 | Abington, Mass. | 10 |
| 1/26/2023 | Weymouth, Mass. | 2 |
| 1/30/2023 | Shrewsbury, Mass. | 16 |
| 2/9/2023 | Wilmington, Mass. | 1 |
| 2/9/2023 | Woburn, Mass. | 13 |
| 2/16/2023 | Marlborough, Mass. | 1 |
| 2/16/2023 | Northborough, Mass. | 4 |
| 2/28/2023 | Auburn, Mass. | 2 |
| 2/28/2023 | Millbury, Mass. | 7 |
| 3/7/2023 | Wilmington, Mass. | 3 |
| 3/7/2023 | Woburn, Mass. | 2 |
| 3/7/2023 | Hudson, Mass. | 1 |
| 3/7/2023 | Burlington, Mass. | 4 |
| 3/9/2023 | Auburn, Mass. | 3 |
| 3/9/2023 | Bedford, Mass. | 2 |
| 3/9/2023 | Billerica, Mass. | 4 |
| 3/16/2023 | Sterling, Mass. | 20 |
| 3/21/2023 | Leominster, Mass. | 13 |
