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Jozef “Joey” Kiszka of South River – formerly of Elmwood Park – was caught "unlawfully purchasing stolen catalytic converters from multiple individuals,” Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said.
The 42-year-old Polish immigrant was arrested at his job in Woodbridge last weekend following a months-long investigation, the prosecutor said.
Kiszka -- who posted a photo of himself atop a mountain of the highly-prized exhaust emission control devices was charged on a summons to appear in court on theft, conspiracy and dealing in stolen property, Musella said.
The arrest comes amid a spike in the number of catalytic converters stolen nationwide.
Law enforcement agencies everywhere are dealing with stealthy individuals and crews who are swiping them from the underbellies of vehicles parked in private driveways on otherwise quiet streets -- even in dealership lots.
Installed in almost all gasoline cars and trucks sold in the United States since 1975, catalytic converters help remove nitrogen oxide and other potentially toxic pollutants from a vehicle’s exhaust while reducing engine noise.
Their honeycomb interiors are coated with a trio of precious metals -- rhodium, palladium and platinum – that have become black market gold.
They fetch insane prices: Rhodium alone can sell for upwards of $20,000 an ounce.
For thieves, it could mean several hundred dollars from a chop shop or other illicit buyer who will resell it to a recycler.
For the vehicle owner, it could mean a replacement bill of up to $2,000.
“It’s a quick type of theft. They slide under a vehicle, go snip-snip and they’re gone,” Fairview Police Chief Martin Kahn recently said. “They don’t have to steal the whole car.”
Musella thanked the Bergen County Sheriff’s Office and Woodbridge police for their assistance.
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