As recently as last year, Massachusetts and New Hampshire were plagued with catalytic converter thefts — under the dark of night, thieves would cut the valuable components from the undercarriage of cars and trucks, leaving people and businesses to deal with their disabled vehicles come morning.
That was until federal authorities arrested a group of seven men for stealing hundreds of stolen catalytic converters, as well as for targeting ATMs and jewelry stores. Since, the problem of stolen converters is "largely a thing of the past," Assistant U.S. Attorney for Massachusetts, Phil Mallard, said. He prosecuted the case.
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The arrests were made in April of 2023, and included the ringleader of the group, Rafael Davila — also known as "Robin Hood." Since, they've all pleaded guilty.
"This case was about highly-skilled, smart people deciding to put all of that expertise into illegal activity," Acting U.S. Attorney for Massachusetts Joshua Levy said. "They created hundreds and hundreds of victims around the Commonwealth and now they're going to pay the price for that."
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Levy and Mallard sat down with NBC10 Boston to give an inside look at the investigation that ended with the arrest of the theft ring — including the extensive planning and coordinating by Davila and how an eBay purchase helped crack the case.
See the interviews, and surveillance footage of the thefts, in the video at the top of this story.
