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The whole process takes just a few minutes. Two cars without license plates pull up to the scene in Middle Village, Queens. A man with a flashlight scopes out the cars, while another stands by as the lookout. Then, he emerges with his prize, a catalytic converter, before making his escape.
“Within the last year, it happened two times. The part cost like $2,000 to replace,” said Zdenka Petrova, a Middle Village resident.
When Petrova’s father had his catalytic converter stolen a second time, she turned to a local neighborhood group on Facebook.
What You Need To Know:
According to the NYPD, 1,953 catalytic converters have been stolen as of last month
That’s up from 465 thefts in the same period last year
The NYPD says it started a program to etch serial numbers on the catalytic converters
That would allow investigators to charge people with criminal possession of stolen property, if someone is found in possession of a part reported stolen
The value is in the palladium dust coating along the intake. If you have some acid and heat, you can concentrate and remove it, about a pebble's worth. In California a little while back they were aiming for Toyota Priuses, because supposedly something about the car's design make it easier to remove.
Hoodratz from Jamaica and the Bronx are stealing these left and right in NE Queens. I was driving in the Bayside area on Thursday night around 2am when I noticed a hoodrat, definitely not from the area, with his trusty backpack/facemask/hood conveniently surveying cars at a local Nissan dealer. At 2am? Lol. I followed the hoodrat for a few blocks in my car and sure enough he heads to my local mechanic's parking lot (which had several cars parked overnight). Sure enough the hoodrat starts looking underneath a few cars, at which time I called it in and had him arrested. But did I get any thanks from the cops? No.
The value is in the palladium dust coating along the intake. If you have some acid and heat, you can concentrate and remove it, about a pebble's worth. In California a little while back they were aiming for Toyota Priuses, because supposedly something about the car's design make it easier to remove.
Hybrid's have a higher content of the rare metals in their cats.
Hoodratz from Jamaica and the Bronx are stealing these left and right in NE Queens. I was driving in the Bayside area on Thursday night around 2am when I noticed a hoodrat, definitely not from the area, with his trusty backpack/facemask/hood conveniently surveying cars at a local Nissan dealer. At 2am? Lol. I followed the hoodrat for a few blocks in my car and sure enough he heads to my local mechanic's parking lot (which had several cars parked overnight). Sure enough the hoodrat starts looking underneath a few cars, at which time I called it in and had him arrested. But did I get any thanks from the cops? No.
I think the shop owners/owner the the vehicles should thank you. Their the victims.
I first heard about it doing a gig in the exurbs of Orlando several years back, and as I understand it, there is a massive national and global uptick. I don't have a vehicle right now, but I generally had skid plates on them so I imagine that would've made things harder.
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