Catalytic Converter Thieves Sentenced
by Alex Lloyd Gross
Six members of a gang of thieves that preyed upon everyday people by stealing their catalytic converters in the middle of the night were sentenced for their crimes. They were prosecuted in Bucks County, but their crimes spanned across the Delaware Valley.
Michael Williams, the ringleader and owner of TDI Towing at 2335 Wheatsheaf Lane in Philadelphia, his three sons-in-law, Michael Bruce, Kevin Schwartz, and Patrick Hopkins, his wife Deborah Davalos, and her sister Lisa Davalos. On June 27, Williams, Bruce, Schwartz, Hopkins and Deborah Davalos pleaded guilty before President Judge Raymond F. McHugh. Lisa Davalos entered a no contest plea.
Ringleader Williams will spend the next two and a half to five years in state prison.Bruce, 32, of Sewell, N.J., was sentenced to one year less a day to two years less a day at the Bucks County Correctional Facility. Both Schwartz, 34, and Hopkins, 25, both of Huntingdon Valley, were sentenced to nine months to 23 months at the county jail and Lisa Davalos, 49, of Philadelphia, was sentenced to 90 days to 23 months in the county jail.
Catalytic Converter thieves are called the scum of the earth by their victims. Some had to go to work, school or doctors appointments. They went to start their car and found it ran rough.They then realized what happened and it cost thousands to replace. In many cases, it was money they did not have. To Williams, his crew did excellent work and paid for all kinds of converters that they sold to enrich themselves. TDI paid about $300.00 per converter, court records show.
Now , as part of the sentence, they have to pay back $124,900 to victims. The business itself has to be sentenced and that sentence will be served by Williams. TDI was at one time,probably a legitimate business. Now, they will probably shut down be forfeited,
Since the TDI take down in June of 2023, the thefts of catalytic converters has fallen substantially. Should you be a victim of a catalytic converter theft you can fill out this form. There is a possibility you can get some restitution. You must have a police report on file.
You can read the original story here.