A year after Bucks County catalytic converter theft ring takedown, most of the 12 accused plead guilty

One year after the Bucks County District Attorney’s sweeping takedown of a multimillion-dollar catalytic converter theft ring, eight of the 12 people charged in connection with the Port Richmond-based operation have pleaded guilty to multiple crimes, and three of those convicted were handed prison sentences.

The guilty pleas and prison terms represent a relatively swift end to a sprawling investigation led by the Bucks County District Attorney’s office and done in conjunction with more than a dozen federal, state, county, and local agencies.

The DA’s office, which declined to comment on the case until sentencing for the remaining defendants is completed in September, first announced the high-profile case last June. Between 2020 and 2023, the TDI Towing theft ring purchased an estimated 27,300 stolen catalytic converters for a total of $8.2 million, authorities said then.

As the TDI crew bought the illegally obtained and highly valuable car parts during that time, prosecutors say, they stole at least 2,000 of the car parts throughout Bucks County and beyond — and the actual number of catalytic converters stolen in the region could be much higher, according to Manuel Gamiz, spokesperson for the Bucks County District Attorney’s Office.

After a yearlong investigation that involved surveillance, undercover transactions, and high-speed car chases, the office filed charges of corrupt organizations, criminal conspiracy, dealing in proceeds of unlawful activity, and related offenses against 10 adults and one juvenile.

TDI Towing operator Michael Williams, dubbed the “kingpin” of the sprawling operation by the DA, pleaded guilty to corrupt organizations, theft of a catalytic converter, criminal conspiracy, and related crimes, according to court records. He is scheduled to be sentenced in September.

Between 2020 and 2023, Williams was spending a minimum of $10,000 a night on stolen converters, prosecutors said. Williams’ attorney declined to comment on the case. He also involved his family in the criminal enterprise.

Deborah Davalos, Williams’ wife, was charged in April with multiple crimes including corrupt organization and criminal conspiracy and also pleaded guilty in late June. She is expected to face sentencing in September while Lisa Davalos, Williams’ sister-in-law, pleaded no contest in late June and is also scheduled for sentencing in September, records show.

Among the associates Williams enlisted in the enterprise were three men, Eric Simpson, Michael Evangelist, and Anthony Davalos Sr., who pleaded guilty in February and April and were each sentenced to prison terms.

Evangelist pleaded guilty to multiple crimes on April 22 and was sentenced to nine to 23 months in prison, records show. Davalos Sr. pleaded guilty to aggravated assault and was sentenced to 27 to 60 months in prison, along with five years of probation. Simpson, who prosecutors say led police on several high-speed pursuits during the course of the investigation as they tried to pull him over, pleaded guilty to multiple crimes and was sentenced to one to two years in prison.

Simpson, who is currently serving his sentence, had gone “off the deep end,” his attorney John Fioravanti Jr. said, and was caught up in a life of crime. His client, Fioravanti said, was extremely remorseful and had apologized for his involvement in the theft ring.

“Eric just had some difficulties with depression and alike when he was in his early 20s,” said Fioravanti. “He went off the deep end, did some wrong things, and went the wrong way.”

Evangelist was a “cutter,” who sheared catalytic converters off the bottom of cars, his attorney David Knight said. He was a minor participant in the expansive criminal organization, according to Knight.

“Some of the people he didn’t even know,”he added. “... Things just got out of hand for him.”

Two other associates in the crime ring, Richard Allan Page and Gary Shirley, were both charged with multiple crimes including theft by unlawful taking and theft of a catalytic converter, and are scheduled for hearings next month.

One young person who was 17 when charged was also charged with crimes connected to alleged involvement in the ring. Those proceedings are confidential because the person is a juvenile.

The Philadelphia region has long been plagued by thieves who target catalytic converters — emissions-control devices that reduce the amount of harmful pollution in car exhaust — because of the precious metals they contain: platinum, palladium, and rhodium.

The rare metals — made rarer by supply-chain issues in the last few years, prosecutors said — fetch high prices in the resale market. The current price for about 31 grams of platinum is $993, $955 for that amount of palladium, and $4,600 for that amount of rhodium, according to Johnson Matthey, a British chemical and technology company.