Catalytic Converter Thieves Hit Truck, Van Fleets

Businesses that own or lease fleets of trucks or vans, especially on the northwest side, would be well-advised to keep a sharp eye on them.

Catalytic converters are disappearing at quite a clip.

A supervisor at FSA Network, 4320 N. 124th St., Wauwatosa, reported Friday that someone had stolen the catalytic converters off four leased trucks.

He said that during the morning several drivers had told him their trucks didn’t sound right and the check engine lights were coming on. The theft was discovered and police were called.

They reviewed video surveillance footage with the supervisor and saw a dark-colored, possibly green, Chevy Suburban pull in just after 1 a.m. and make stops of a few minutes each near the trucks, although no actual theft can be seen.

The trucks were leased from Enterprise Rent a Truck, 4445 N. 124th St., right across the street in Brookfield. When contacted, Enterprise reported that another converter had been stolen off one of its trucks that night, and that the converters were valued at $3,500 each. Brookfield police said they would share any video evidence they got from that theft.

On Sept. 4, a manager at Freight First Corp., 11500 W. Burleigh St. in Wauwatosa, reported that some time that weekend someone had stolen the catalytic converters off of six leased trucks in the company’s fleet. The leasing company reported the value of the converters as $4,000 apiece.

On Sept. 16, at 3:52 p.m., the owner of Dust Free Cleaning, 12201 W. Burleigh St., reported that overnight or some time before noon someone had removed and stolen the catalytic converter off one of the company’s vans. Catalytic converters were also reported stolen that day or the night before from a van belonging to Habitat for Humanity ReStore, 3015 N. 114th St., and from two delivery vans belonging to MAP Automotive, 2969 N. 114th St.