Reports of catalytic converter thefts in Fresno dropped by 60% after federal authorities arrested a man who was selling thousands of the stolen car part for a profit of more than $2.5 million.
Federal prosecutors announced the dramatic drop in reported thefts Thursday after they convicted George Thomas, 72, who was charged in 2023 with interstate transportation of stolen property and other crimes. He faces a maximum of 10 years in prison when he is sentenced.
Thomas was a prolific reseller of catalytic converters, which are highly valuable because they are made partially out of precious metals like platinum and palladium, which can sell for hundreds or even thousands of dollars per ounce on the black market.
Catalytic converter thieves have terrorized Californians for years, with some encounters turning violent when car owners stumble upon the thieves in action. Actor Johnny Wactor was shot and killed by thieves last year after he came upon them attempting to steal the catalytic converter from his Toyota Prius in downtown Los Angeles, and a man was fatally shot in February for confronting two suspected thieves in Inglewood.
Thomas did not commit the thefts himself, but worked with numerous converter thieves whom he would meet in strip malls and motel parking lots to purchase the stolen goods, prosecutors said.
He gave the thieves instructions on which parts of the car he was looking for and how best to cut the converter out from the vehicle.
Thomas attempted to cover up his illegal activity by taking photos of the sellers of the converters, asking them for identification and recording vehicle identification numbers for each sale. He also made the thieves sign paperwork saying the converters were not stolen. But investigators found that more than half the VINs did not match up to cars that the converters could have come from.
Thomas then drove the converters out of California to a scrap metal shop in Oregon where he sold the converters for a total of $2.7 million.
To catch Thomas, federal investigators had an undercover agent pose as a converter thief who wanted to sell to Thomas and make sure that Thomas knew the parts he was buying were illegal.
The undercover met with Thomas to sell the converters and made it clear how they were acquired.
“I got these little fricking knuckleheads that steal me some,” the undercover said, according to a transcript of a recording taken during the meeting.
Thomas was unbothered.
“I don’t care where you get the converters,” he said.
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