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The crew, which is responsible for countless recent catalytic converter thefts throughout New Jersey, swiped nine of the devices in the northeast section of Teaneck on Jan. 21, followed by 17 more ten days later, Teaneck Police Chief Andrew McGurr said.
The thieves trolled the area during the early morning hours in a stolen SUV bearing a bogus temporary registration tag, the chief said.
Thieves have been swiping and then selling catalytic converters for years. It's recently become something of an epidemic, however -- one that is made all the more visible by the explosion of home security video.
The highly-prized emissions-control devices help remove nitrogen oxide and other potentially toxic pollutants from a vehicle’s exhaust while reducing engine noise. They also have honeycomb interiors coated with a trio of precious metals -- rhodium, palladium and platinum – that have become black-market targets.
Rhodium alone can sell for upwards of $20,000 an ounce, over 10 times more than gold.
For thieves, that could mean from $50 to several hundred dollars in cold, hard cash from a chop shop or other buyer who resells the converter to a recycler. Some brazen recyclers even advertise on Facebook.
For motorists, the theft of a catalytic converter could mean a replacement bill of up to $2,000.
Catalytic converter theft may be the quickest of all property crimes, sometimes taking no more than 60 seconds.
The driver of a stolen vehicle pulls up behind the target, an accomplice raises the chosen car with a jack and a third slides underneath and cuts free the converter with a battery-powered saw while a fourth member keeps a look out, McGurr said.
Want to see how easy it is? CLICK on the video below.
The path to the arrests in Teaneck began with a 3:21 a.m. call on Jan. 31 of a converter theft on Wyndham Road, the chief said.
Five minutes later, a similar call came in from Suffern Road, he said.
More residents began filing reports as the morning progressed, McGurr said. By 2 p.m., there were already a dozen, he said.
Thefts were reported at the municipal parking lot on River Road, on Churchill Road, Edgewood Road, Beverly Road, Cornwall Avenue, Winthrop Road, Ester Avenue, Briarcliff Road, Ogden Avenue and Taft Road, McGurr said.
Detective Sgt. Kevin Brennan of Teaneck’s Anti-Crime Squad, in turn, led an investigation that included obtaining witness accounts and reviewing surveillance video, McGurr said.
It turns out two of the men, Omar Fernandez and Gabriel Burgos, both 31, were arrested for a similar crime in Clifton in April before a judge released both of them two days later under New Jersey’s bail reform law.
Fernandez was arrested and sent to the Bergen County Jail on Thursday, Jan. 22, McGurr said.
Efforts to find Burgos were continuing, he said.
A host of charges against both men include multiple counts of theft and criminal mischief, as well as possession of burglary tools.
McGurr thanked he Bergen and Burlington prosecutors’ offices for their assistance in the investigation.
He also urged anyone who sees or hears anything suspicious outside their homes or in their neighborhoods to call police immediately. They’d much rather arrive quickly to a call that turns into nothing than let a thief make a clean getaway.
Citizens can also provide tips to Crime Stoppers, which offers rewards for information leading to the capture and prosecution of lawbreakers. These can be made anonymously on the group’s website at bergencrimestoppers.org or by calling 844-466-6789, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
McGurr provided some of his own tips, urging citizens to park in garages or in well-lighted areas on private property. Thieves are "mostly targeting vehicles parked in the roadway or unattended lots," he said.
Motion-sensing lights, security cameras and vehicle alarms can also be effective deterrents, the chief noted.
There are also several aftermarket anti-theft devices that can be installed on vehicles to make it more difficult to remove the catalytic converter, he said. You could also have your license plate number or VIN etched onto the converter, which could alert a scrap dealer that it's stolen and identify you as the owner.
SEE: Catalytic Converter Theft (Allstate)
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