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Californians plead guilty in $600 million nationwide catalytic converter theft scheme

Three members of a California family pleaded guilty Monday to conspiracy for their role in a ring that shipped $600 million worth of stolen catalytic converters from California to New Jersey, federal prosecutors said.

Brothers Tou Sue Vang, 32, and Andrew Vang, 28, along with their mother, Monica Moua, 58, were part of “a national network of thieves, dealers, and processors” who provided the stolen auto anti-smog devices to a metal refinery for more than $600 million, according to a statement from the U.S. attorney’s office.

Twenty-one people from California and New Jersey have been charged in the case, prosecutors said. The three Sacramento family members pleaded guilty to conspiring to transport the devices in return for more than $38 million.

unityinsomnia ,

They took the catalytic converter meme literally

Zehzin ,
@Zehzin@lemmy.world avatar

Is it too late to get into the catalytic converter theft business? I promise to only do it to expensive cars

Maeve ,

I hope they turn state’s ev on the people in my area doing this (I don’t know they’re connected, but if they are).

Blackout ,
@Blackout@kbin.social avatar

Justice. These people deserve a lengthy prison time. The pain they caused so many is indescribable.

themeatbridge ,

I agree with you, but it feels like a good time to point out that employers steal 25 times that amount from employees every single year.

CluckN ,

I agree with you, but it feels like a good time to point out that Vending Machines kill on average 13 people a year. Money means nothing compared to getting away with murder.

CarbonatedPastaSauce ,

I like your style.

MrPibb ,

Your comment doesn’t negate theirs. While it is true that wage theft by employers is a problem bringing it up in this threads/in this manner, marginalizes the feelings of the people that had their lives upended by these reprobates. Interjected statements, like this, are best brought up/received fluidly and not by saying “Yeah your thing was bad, BUT YOU KNOW WHATS WORSE…”.

themeatbridge , (edited )

I wasn’t trying to negate their comment at all, nor marginalize the feelings of anyone. Most people are entirely unaware that wage theft even exists.

These criminals will go to jail, and examples will be made of them for the audacity of their crimes. That’s good, because thieves should face justice.

But re-reading it, I can see how I came off that way. My mistake.

MrPibb , (edited )

This is my point to a T. Intent doesn’t matter here. Your comment DID marginalize their feelings, it detracts away from this thread’s purpose which is for those that wished for justice after having their cars ruined to see that there has been some justice served to the people that ruined their car.

themeatbridge ,

I apologize for marginalizing people’s feelings on the subject. I wasn’t thinking how my comment would affect people who have personally been victims of these criminals. I included my intent not to justify my carelessness, but to hopefully clarify my goals. I hoped to harness the outrage to direct it at something productive.

There are no defenders of catalytic converter thieves. Nobody is making the argument that destroying cars to steal precious metals is a critical component of our economy. I am not suggesting that it’s not worthy of anger and contempt.

I do still hope that more people become aware of wage theft. There are far more victims, a far greater percentage are unaware that they are victims, and there is infinitely more work to be done to fight wage theft. But I acknowledge that this was the wrong way to being it up.

nonailsleft ,

I was gonna click the upward arrow for your heartfelt apology but then you had to bring the wage theft thing up again! Aaaah

qooqie ,

Man fuck these people. Everyone’s struggling out here and they just make it worse because they want the money. Idiots like this will never change

Coasting0942 ,

You just didn’t give them enough time. Another year and they’d have a Netflix show celebrating them, or they’d be on Forbes magazine for cornering the new hot niche

Semi-Hemi-Demigod ,
@Semi-Hemi-Demigod@kbin.social avatar

Everyone’s struggling out here and they just make it worse because they want the money.

They didn't get convicted because they're making life worse because they want money. They got convicted because they didn't make life worse for money legally.

Making life worse for money is actually praised quite often in America.

porksoda ,

Yeah, we know how the law works…

dual_sport_dork ,
@dual_sport_dork@lemmy.world avatar

It’s not even that much money, compared to what it costs to get your catalytic converter replaced afterwards. The average scrap value is something like $85 each. It’ll cost you hundreds or possibly into the thousands depending on your car to have a shop replace your converter, because most people are not equipped to this themselves.

torknorggren ,

Fortunately I live in a state where you can get away with straight piping. So it’s mostly the environment that gets fucked!

Grumpy ,

I’m not sure I’d call that fortunate.

dual_sport_dork ,
@dual_sport_dork@lemmy.world avatar

On that note, a guy I know brought me his bakery van which thieves had cut the catalytic converter out of. He wanted me to straight pipe it to get it through inspection, until he could get the replacement cat. I went under there and… wait a minute, the missing section is after the downstream O2 sensor? Yeah, it turns out these bozos stole the resonator chamber out of his exhaust. I chased the pipe the rest of the way and found the actual converter under the hood.

Morons.

So I did straight pipe that son of a bitch, and according to him the loss of the resonator didn’t make it perform or sound any different. I’d doubt the manufacturer just put it there for the hell of it, but, you never know.

nonailsleft ,

Where I’m from ‘straight piping’ means something entirely different

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