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Ansonia resident Francisco Ayala, age 22, pleaded guilty to participating in the scheme in Hartford Federal Court on Tuesday, April 4, according to the US Attorney's Office for the District of Connecticut.
According to federal officials, Ayala had been involved in a number of catalytic converter thefts across the state, including one incident where he was caught on surveillance video stealing them from two vans at a Stratford business on March 9, 2022.
Between December 2021 and May 2022, Ayala and an associate sold around $150,000 worth of these stolen catalytic converters to a co-conspirator who would take them to businesses in New York and New Jersey for resale and profit.
Because the converters contain precious metals, are easy to remove from vehicles, and are hard to trace, they are desirable to thieves, who can often get between $300 and $1,500 for them depending on the model and what precious metals are inside.
Ayala was arrested after an investigation into the thefts led investigators to him. He pleaded guilty to the following charges:
- One count of conspiracy to commit interstate transportation of stolen property, which carries a maximum sentence of five years;
- One count of interstate transportation of stolen property, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years.
Ayala is scheduled to be sentenced on Thursday, July 13. He is being detained until then.
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