A homeless man armed with a reciprocating saw recently cut the catalytic converter from a church-owned truck outside the Trinity Gospel Church in Canton.

When police caught up to the 52-year-old man a short time later, he told them he'd previously cut converters from six other vehicles and sold them as scrap.

Catalytic converter thefts have skyrocketed since the pandemic began, according to the Des Plaines, Illinois-based National Insurance Crime Bureau. For example, just four years ago, Canton police had zero reports of such thefts. Last year, they received 79 and before August ended, 63 more complaints.

"The last two years have probably been our busiest," said Inspector William Jones of the Stark County Sheriff's Office, with deputies taking 160 reports of catalytic converter thefts last year and, up through August, another 87 reports.

But it's not just in Ohio. Catalytic converter thefts are soaring nationwide. According to a National Insurance Crime Bureau study, there were 108 catalytic converter thefts per month on average in 2018, 282 in 2019, and 1,203 last year.

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Catalytic converters — which are devised to convert the engine's exhaust into non-harmful emissions — are so desirable because of the precious metals they contain. They include rhodium, palladium and platinum, with those metals valued, respectively, at $14,500 an ounce, $2,336 per ounce and $1,061 an ounce late last year.

Recyclers will typically pay $50 to $250 per catalytic converter, the insurance group says.

Some recycling businesses won't buy catalytic converters. But other scrap yards and recyclers, such as Central Core in Minerva and Countryside Recycling in Carrollton, do. And the prices they pay change daily.

A Central Core employee who asked not to be named showed a Repository reporter a large box of catalytic converters and then a smaller box containing chunks of ceramic-coated metal that he said is inside each converter. Each chunk contains the valuable metals.

"We pay anywhere from $25 to $1,000 for these (catalytic converters)," he said, adding "Legally, you can only buy one per day off an individual. But a garage or dealer can bring in 50."

Countryside owner Mia Maple Shuman said that while some catalytic converters can be worth $600 to 800 apiece, four removed from just one large truck may yield a $3,000 payout.

But even her business isn't immune from catalytic converter thieves.

Shuman said those intent on stealing the devices, steel rims and other metal parts from junked vehicles have been spotted on security cameras moving aside barbed wire atop her business' fence and scaling it to get into the lot. She wants them to know: "When a car comes in (to be junked), we rip off the converter right away. We lock up our converters."

And, she said, selling a catalytic converter to a business that buys isn't a simple cash exchange.

Buyers are required to take information from the seller's driver's license or Ohio ID card and type it into the Ohio Homeland Security-maintained Scrap Metal Dealer Registry. The database shows the seller's criminal background, if one exists, and it features a "do not buy from" list and an average product price. 

Legally, a buyer can only accept one catalytic converter per day from the seller, whose identity is typed into the system before the sale can take place. 

But the businesses that buy catalytic converters aren't connected to one another online.

So a nefarious seller can go from one business to another to conduct transactions.

Jason Kindelberger, who owns Ja's Auto Service in Mineral City, said the payout is high.

"A thief can steal two or three converters in a week and get a better payday than you or I get," he said. "These guys are making big money. The law's response is, 'You need to put up more security cameras and make it harder for them.' Good luck with that. There's no real big penalty for it anyway. They don't care." 

For the victim, "it's become a huge problem," said John Pisani, owner of NAPA Auto Parts on Wise Avenue in North Canton. "Some catalytic converters you can't even replace."

A thief or thieves stole the catalytic converters from his company's plow truck and his delivery car parked in front of his own building, which contains his business on the west side and his brother's business on the east side. He hasn't been able to find a replacement for one of those stolen catalytic converters.

Derek Dunkle, owner of Industrial Park Automotive in Hartville, said theft damage done to a customer's Ford pickup from a converter theft left the owner with a $1,600 repair bill.

"To fix (converter theft damage) with direct-fit pieces, it's a substantial charge," Dunkle said. "(Two owners) came in thinking the exhaust went bad on their cars. It was just loud. They had no clue that parts had been taken off of it.

"The thieves will cut through O2 sensor wiring sometimes and sometimes the main harness will get cut. It looks like they use a reciprocating saw on them and they cut it off regardless of what's in the way."

AAA has noticed an increase in insurance claims and automotive repair requests related to stolen catalytic converters and noted that not every car is covered by insurance.

The agency asks that drivers to carry comprehensive insurance.

"To replace your catalytic converter, it could cost hundreds or even thousands of dollars, depending on your vehicle," said Kimberly Schwind of the AAA Ohio Auto Club. "These thieves don't do a perfect job taking it out. It's a rush job, (so) they'll leave other damage. I spoke with one victim who said, not only does he have to pay for the catalytic converter (to be replaced), he was also without a car. And with the rental car shortage, it was difficult to rent a car."

AAA recommends that if a vehicle owner cannot park inside a garage, parking under a light, installing motor sensor security lights, locking car doors, setting up a camera and vehicle alarm and installing anti-theft devices, which usually cost between $100 and $300.

John Pisani's brother Mike W. Pisani and nephew, Mike P. Pisani, own North Canton Metal Recycling, which is on the back of the NAPA building.

The sign advertising North Canton Metal Recycling sits in front of the auto parts store on Wise Avenue NW. The sign says the recycling business on the other side of the building is "open 7 days" and buys "catalytic converters, automotive parts, copper, brass, wire and more!"

Mike W. Pisani recently examined a catalytic converter brought in by two men hoping to sell. One of the men claimed to have removed it from his Ford Explorer before junking the vehicle.

The man showed his driver's license and, after his information checked out on the state registry, he and the man with him left with $300 cash. (He declined to give his name to a newspaper reporter, citing the trouble his ex-wife would cause him if she learned he had money.)

The elder Pisani had determined that the device they'd brought had clearly been removed using a torch: "That's how you know it's not stolen. Nobody (that's going to steal one) is toting a torch around."

Police say a few minutes under the truck with a reciprocating saw and the deed is done. Thieves also prefer sport utility vehicles and trucks, primarily because those vehicles are higher off the ground and do not require use of a floor-jack.

Mike W. Pisani and Shuman say the thieves don't typically go to recyclers to sell the ill-gotten gains. Both say the "core buyers" are people who do business via Facebook Marketplace and Craigslist, selling pilfered catalytic converters from anyone who's buying or buying several from anyone who's selling.

"Not only are these income streams untraceable, they circumvent the laws that were put in place to keep (the thefts) from happening," Mike W. Pisani said.

Shuman said a lot of the buyers come from other counties and even other states.

"The biggest problem is the people that are buying it, not the scrap yards," Shuman said. And, she said, "The majority of it, I think, is that (the thieves) are people on drugs."

Police also believe that catalytic converter thieves are motivated by money for illegal drugs.

When authorities caught up with the homeless man who'd cut the catalytic converter from the Trinity Gospel church vehicle, he had several syringes that, police say, had been used to smoke meth.

Rep. Bob Young, R-Green, has introduced House Bill 408 with the goal of banning the sale of stolen catalytic converters by recategorizing them as "special purchase articles." Under Ohio law, to buy such an item, the seller would be required to provide proof of ownership of the vehicle from which the catalytic converter came, said Amanda Magoteaux, legislative aide for Young. 

If the removal of the catalytic converter stemmed from a repair or a replacement and the owner got the removed catalytic converter back,  "they have to show the receipt and what vehicle it came off of," she said. 

The bill also would require buyers to photograph each catalytic converter they buy.