The leader of a western Massachusetts catalytic converter theft ring that the feds described as operating at the speed of a “NASCAR pit crew” will spend 10 years in prison.
Rafael “Robbin Hood” Davila, of Agawam, pleaded guilty in April to several charges connected to the crew he ran in the Springfield area in an operation that ripped off $2 million in losses across Massachusetts and New Hampshire.
On Tuesday, U.S. District Court Judge Leo T. Sorokin sentenced Davila to 10 years in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release during which Davila is to complete 75 hours of community service at a food pantry — but not at the same one the feds say he stole from during his crew-running days.
“I don’t want you to do it all at once,” Sorokin said during sentencing as he imposed a limit of 10 hours per month of community service, “I want you to do it over a period of time to remind you of what you’ve done.”
Then-U.S. Attorney Rachael Rollins announced the arrest of a seven-member crew led by Davila in April 2023, the fruit of a state and federal partnership named “Operation Cut and Run.” Rollins described the group as operating “like a NASCAR pit crew,” highlighting “the skill and speed with which these individuals could jack up a vehicle, cut the catalytic converter out.”
The group targeted catalytic converters for several reasons, according to then-Boston FBI Special Agent in Charge Joe Bonavolonta.
“Catalytic converters are easy to steal, they’re valuable and they lack identifying markings that can easily be traced by law enforcement,” Bonavolonta said. “They’re also a prime target for thieves because of the exploding market value of the precious metals hidden inside their core and the disruptions in the supply chain that makes them difficult to replace.”
The day of the arrest, the precious metals that are embedded in catalytic converters were trading high on the commodities market, with Monex, a bullion trader based in Newport Beach, Calif., listing platinum at $1,027 an ounce and palladium at $1,493. Other trading websites had rhodium listed at around $7,000 an ounce for the day.
On the day of Davila’s sentencing, the values had eased, though were on a slight rebound from prior lows: $995 an ounce for platinum, $1,011 an ounce for palladium and rhodium at $4,825 per ounce based on the same sources as before.
But the thieving didn’t stop with catalytic converters, authorities allege. Some of those charged are also alleged to have stolen from ATMs in Massachusetts three separate times in December by using stolen trucks to rip the ATMs from the ground. Three of the crew are also alleged to have burglarized two New Hampshire jewelry stores on Jan. 12, taking $137,000 worth of goods and causing about $10,000 in damage, according to the State Police.
The State Police, the agency that said it started the investigation in October, said that during the arrests, authorities searched locations in Agawam, Springfield, Palmer and Holyoke and turned up seven firearms, six cars, seven motorcycles, two jet skis, a boat, a Can Am Spyder — which is a three wheeled motorcycle — U.S. currency, unspecified narcotics and more than 20 catalytic converters.
This is a developing story.
Flint McColgan / Boston Herald
Three catalytic converters seized in the Wednesday morning arrests and present at a press conference at the federal courthouse in Boston. (Flint McColgan / Boston Herald)
Nancy Lane/Boston Herald
Mark Cyr, Lieutenant Colonel Mass State Police, speaks next to surveillance video as US Attorney Rachael Rollins announces the arrest of a group allegedly responsible for stealing over 470 catalytic converters during a press conference on Wednesday, in Boston, MA. (Nancy Lane/Boston Herald) April 12, 2023
