Philly Tow Company Owner Sentenced For $8.2 Million Catalytic Converter Theft Ring

A family at the center of a catalytic converter theft ring has been sentenced for “operating a multi-million-dollar catalytic converter theft ring throughout the Philadelphia region”, according to authorities and a new report from Patch.

A Philadelphia towing company owner was exposed as the ringleader of a catalytic converter theft ring, busted in June 2023 after a yearlong investigation, according to Bucks County prosecutors.

Six family members, including some from Montgomery County, were sentenced Monday. Authorities revealed TDI Towing was “likely involved in the buying and reselling of over 25,000 likely stolen catalytic converters,” according to NBC. 

The Patch report says that “TDI employees were paid an average of $300 per catalytic converter, for a total of nearly $8.2 million during the three years.”

 A joint investigation by Bucks County detectives and over 30 local, state, and federal agencies uncovered the ring. Michael Williams, owner of TDI Towing in Philadelphia, along with his wife, three sons-in-law, and her sister, were sentenced Monday. In June, five pleaded guilty, while one entered a no-contest plea.

Michael Williams received 2.5 to 5 years in state prison and probation, while his accomplices, including Bruce, Schwartz, Hopkins, and Lisa Davalos, were sentenced to county jail terms ranging from 90 days to 23 months, and Deborah Davalos received two years of probation.

“I think we got to see on the videos who [Williams] was when he didn’t know he was being recorded,” said Prosecutor Edward Furman. “Our position was that he was preying on people that were in the throes of addiction. He knew that they were looking for cheap, easy money and he was their source of it.”

Coley Reynolds, Williams’s defense attorney, commented to NBC: “Michael was a person who was raised a certain way, wanted to take care of his friends, wanted to take care of his community. I’m not saying that led to these offenses, but certainly we thought it should have been more of a consideration to the court.”

Williams will have to pay more than $100,000 in restitution.