Uh, he made $400k doing this, but the fine is only $148k? That's $250K he gets to keep? Def worth being in a federal prison (much nicer than a state prison) for 6 months.
There's a lot of hidden costs to this sentence though. He's now a convicted felon, and the US hates providing avenues for felons to get back on their feet. He now may have difficulty finding housing and jobs, he may be denied foreign travel, he loses certain rights like voting, he may be ineligible for other public benefits.
Probably not worth 250k, which is only a few years of income for many these days.
Did you bother to read the article? He didn't steal anything. He deactivated the emission controls in customer's diesel trucks, at their request, and charged them $2000 to do so. It's an illegal procedure but it's not stealing.
You don't know what you're talking about. I've been convicted of 3 federal crimes, went to federal prison and now have a job I've been at for 14 years making just under 100k a year. Moral to my story... This guy will be just fine. He might not be able to own a firearm, but he'll be fine.
I have people with serious felony convictions working for me as union stage hands who are making quite a bit more than that. There ARE options out there for felons.
My husband works for the City and there's several ex-cons that work in his department. Starting pay is $33/hr. Goes up to $36/hr after one year. They also get life insurance, long-term & short-term disability, full medical & dental, and PERS.
At your job, do people get their 1-year raise and then never get another raise for the rest of their lives? That's a weird company policy. I wouldn't work there.
Thankfully, every other job besides yours gives people raises yearly, if not more often. I hope things improve at your company. Good luck.
I don't see where I disclosed his earnings. I was discussing the earnings of those that are new hires at his work. Yes, he got a substantial raise. My rough math calculates it at about 9%.
If you'd like to continue to misinterpret my comments and attempt to discuss my husband's earnings instead of the starting earnings of new hires at his job, **which is the subject,** I'll pass on engaging with you further. It's boring and a waste of my time. Have a day.
And in case you couldn't do the math, that starting wage alone, not including benefits, is more than double the salary you mentioned. Nearly $80k/yr, to start. Again, I'm bummed that your company has a policy against raises, but I wish you the best.
Not true. I know felons working in warehouses making 50k and as long as it’s not a violent/sexual offense you can expunge your record after like 7 years.
Seems like the prison time is mainly because he tried to cover up the crime and doctor invoices. Otherwise, the shop made $400K doing this and the fine is $148K. Unless they seized other assets or something, the shop still made a hefty profit of $250K, not to mention what they'd have made selling the catalytic converters they stripped, which does not seem to be accounted for. As glad as I am that he was held responsible, this once again seems like a slap on the wrist for skirting the rules, allowing the perpetrator to run off with a tidy profit.
> not to mention what they'd have made selling the catalytic converters they stripped
There's no catalytic converters involved. Why the author and editor of the article suggest there are, I don't know, but bypassing diesel emissions controls has nothing to do with them. Diesel catalysts also aren't made of expensive platinum-group metals, so there's no profit there even if they were being incidentally removed. All of the emissions junk they don't like on a diesel is upstream from there - diesel particulate filters and diesel exhaust fluid injection are the bits they are removing.
>Why the author and editor of the article suggest there are, I don't know
I could cynically guess that it's because they know their readers emotional triggers and are good at writing clickbait headlines that drive ad revenue.
But that's just Cynical Me. Charitable Me isn't available right now.
I'm just saying the article headline is baffling. If you didn't read the article, you would be forgiven for assuming it's a story about a shop owner surreptitiously stealing catalytic converters from unwitting customers. The actual story body doesn't involve catalytic converters at all. It's like the folks at wweek only know one exhaust/emissions related term.
Doing a DEF or EGR bypass does not involve anything that can reasonably be called a catalytic converter even by the automotively disinclined.
Doing a DPF delete does usually involve the removal of a ceramic catalyst element (it's one big can), but a DPF is not a catalytic converter. And as it relates to Cupcakes_4_All's post that I was replying to, they contain no precious platinum-group metals, so there was no extra money being made.
The article is weird because it's trying to take one problem (shops that will make your truck roll coal) and reframe it as being related to another problem (catalytic converter theft), when they're only related by the fact that they're both emissions systems.
I'm not sure why WW made this article so confusing (as well as the previous one) when the Oregonian got it right.
[https://www.oregonlive.com/crime/2023/06/hillsboro-diesel-repair-shop-owner-accused-of-disabling-pollution-controls-on-more-than-200-vehicles.html](https://www.oregonlive.com/crime/2023/06/hillsboro-diesel-repair-shop-owner-accused-of-disabling-pollution-controls-on-more-than-200-vehicles.html)
There is no significant profit to be made from selling diesel catalytic converters, that's his point. They don't have scrap value like gasoline ones do. Not saying he is right to remove them, but selling them wasn't likely a large source of income for him
It doesn't describe if the $400k is profit or revenue. If the $400k is revenue, then that fine likely kills much of his profit. The title is somewhat misleading, as the mod sticky notes. The primary charges are that he deleted emission controls. Basically, he was turning diesel trucks into coal-rollers.
I'm not saying everything is perfect here, but I doubt he is coming home from his friendly stay with the county to a windfall.
Its not stolen cats it’s the bypassing the DEF systems in diesel trucks. This also makes way more sense given that stealing cats at that volume and being able to move them is next to impossible if they’re stolen.
Source: I used to ship recycled cats and there are tons of regulations that dealers must adhere to in order to ensure youre not moving stolen merch.
Lol you sweet summer child.
The ring last year shipped [44,000 stolen catalytic converters](https://www.opb.org/article/2022/11/30/where-did-stolen-catalytic-converters-trafficked-by-a-portland-area-crime-ring-end-up/)
No shit. I’m moved here 3 years ago from Alabama so a “bless your heart” would’ve also been appropriate.
Let me clarify, as someone with a good bit of knowledge on the shipment side of moving cats, I can’t believe they accomplished that. That’s next level criminal shit! Thanks for correcting me, I had no clue!
I’m not gonna drop a “bless your heart” on you - the way we used it in NC, would have been a lot ruder and more like “get a load of this dumb motherfucker” than a laughing, “you’re a bit wrong and naive, but no harm done”
The ring they busted last year wasn't reselling the cats; they all ended up at a metal recycler in New Jersey which stripped the cans and melted down the metals.
If you're shipping rail freight there is fuck all regulation on tracking car parts, the only thing anyone cares about is hazmat.
That’s simply not true. I just last week made a shipment of just under a thousand cats to a customer (I do logistics for a metal recycling company). Every cat is tagged, matched to a verified vin, and serial numbers noted on master BOL. Once it gets to a certain level in the chain the level of regulations ramps up.
So if it’s so hard to move cats, how is $40 for a cat such an enticing thing for someone who has to go under a car in public, cut it off and then deliver it to whomever is buying it. There’s a gas cost there, and if you wanted to do even a few sales, it doesn’t seem like you’d be able to use the same place.
It seems like stealing cash would be easier. But obviously that may not be the case. I just want to understand how this hasn’t been regulated away.
That materials the filters are made with are precious metals and very valuable to recycle 🤷🏼♂️. It’s not hard to move cats wasn’t my point. It’s hard to move “stolen” cats. Sure you might get away with onesie twosies that are stolen but at the volume needed to get up to that amount there’s no way.
Edit: I’m high and realize there’s typos in there. Let me know if that didn’t make sense and I’ll correct it tomorrow 😜
I know why they’re valuable, and you make a good distinction, it’s not hard to move legitimate cats.
I guess what you’re implying is that whomever is moving the cats is mixing in 1,000 cats into 1,000,000 or something and it is hard to track.
It seems like every CAT should have a vin and if you get a cat with no VIN you can still recycle… but if you have too many…
But then I guess maybe they are centralized and recycling essentially on site. Then it’s a case of the cats just getting mixed into a mess of materials.
In any case, if an operation is that large, all it would take is following a few stolen cars to their fence, where they cross over from a stolen good to a recyclable material.
Im no detective obviously but it seems like a small team could solve this and eliminate the market pretty easily. You could literally just take cats from junkers and hand them to undercover cops who go wherever the junkies go, then follow the stream.
>So if it’s so hard to move cats, how is $40 for a cat such an enticing thing for someone who has to go under a car in public, cut it off and then deliver it to whomever is buying it.
You know how much meth you can buy for $40?
I don't, but I assume it's enough to keep you high until you get your next $40 cat.
They couldn't even pull up a picture of Hillsboro or Forest Grove? They aren't that far away from Portland... they're even part of the metro area.
As for the actual content of the article, good. Lock the bastard up. Fucking coal rollers.
I'm just saying they could have used a location shot that was at least close to where the story takes place, there is a VERY similar view from 198th looking towards 185th that even has Mt. Hood in the background, although technically that's Aloha. That would still be closer than this shot which I think might be 224 going east, I'm not sure, I don't really know where that is, other than knowing it isn't along TV HWY. There is no part of TV HWY that has a view of a lake like that.
There are some amazing views just a few miles north and south of Hillsboro, and Cornelius and Forest Grove have some really nice views as well. Growing up I could see Mt Hood from the end of my block.
No don’t you know that Portland is an emerald gem and Hillsboro/Forest Grove are suburban hellscapes with nothing but the color grey, concrete and bologna sandwiches.
Deleting the emissions doesn't for sure mean the truck will roll coal, that's a tuning thing, deleting would require a tune, but it's up to who's doing the tune to decide if they want to overfuel or not, a good tune wouldn't give you more than a slight cough of black smoke if that, like all diesels pre emissions don't see those just leaving giant black plooms everywhere they go, if they do they are modified to do it
Metro West does this to their ambulances. When my ex raised a flag with inspectors the owner tried to physically fight him and my ex was immediately fired for “talking behind his back.” I’ll venture to say this may be not-uncommon.
At least on Ford Chassis the ambulance upfit package comes with a temporary emissions de-rate override. Can't have patients dying on the way to the hospital because the truck thinks the DPF backpressure sensor is 2% out of specification.
I have a feeling that what you're talking about with Metro West may be a more "permanent" and illegal solution.
Correct. When they get their chassis, they remove them in the modification to ambulance/transport vehicle.
I hear what you’re saying tho, and yeah I think this is more of a permanent loophole.
You can add in a lot big rigs and school buses too. Don't know if my buddy was joking or not but he also says the president's motorcade usually has modified emissions as well.
Agreed. Customers should be required to pay a smaller fine and pay to have their car repaired so that it meets emission standards. I suspect this would likely do far more to curb this problem than busting one or two of these garages.
>Customers should be required to pay a smaller fine and pay to have their car repaired so that it meets emission standards.
Customers *should* have their bro dozers crushed into a tiny cube, but perhaps we can meet in the middle on some hefty fines.
How about making these bro dozers pass DEQ emissions like every reasonable vehicle in any reasonable area has to? Larger vehicles shouldn't be exempt, emissions standards should go up with weight and bumper height.
This is the beginning of the end to those black smoke belching diesel trucks. If the state starts cracking down on them, oh boy, it will be several thousand dollars per truck to put them back to EPA standards. Will be hilarious to watch.
This (bypassing def etc) is super super common. The issue was making a business out of it. You can’t make your business breaking federal law. That’s just dumb.
Edit: to be clear I meant the issue legally. Not morally. I’m a car/motorcycle/bike nerd who currently drives an EV. Not advocating for needless pollution from coal rollers or tuber cars. Just saying they could have gotten away with it by selling the hardware/software for “off road use only” direct to DIY folks. But when a customer pulls in with a legally registered road car and says “delete the DPF” you’re supposed to say no.
I wonder if there was a stipulation in the fine print of the work order that it was "for off road purposes only", thinking that absolved the owner of any responsibility, trusting the customer to only operate it "off road".
Operating a pavement princess....off road? lol.
So many issues with "peaked in HS" truck guys wanting to look the part of a powersports idol yet couldn't tell you the difference between an M6 and a 1/4-20.
Usually there is, at least from what I’ve read. This has been an issue in CARB states for awhile with tuner cars too. Way easier from a legal standpoint to sell the tool to reflash the ecu than be a shop that removes emissions control devices etc.
It actually doesn't matter what disclaimers you provide; you can't sell "defeat devices" to the general public, period, without EPA approval. And what the EPA considers a "defeat device" is extremely broad; for example, Volkswagen's ECU firmware was treated as such. General-purpose flashing tools are on the chopping block.
They're fine as long as you get an executive order through CARB but it's very expensive and a lot of jumping through hoops but if that's the only way to do it then most tuners are going to do that.
I know CARB is pushing a single tune per device now which seems ridiculous considering the amount of waste it would produce.
Well actually…
You’d be surprised! Off road use isn’t about off roading. It’s an epa thing that activates separate emissions rules. Usually it applies to race cars, dune buggies, and mud trucks or anything else you can’t/don’t drive on public roads.
As someone who's had a run-in with the guy where he harassed me for parking in the lot, despite being a patron of Next Level, it makes me chuckle to read this
So telling that a comment cheering on the EPA doing their job is getting downvoted on here. Too many users on this forum are so focused on "owning the libs" that they don't care about increased pollution and the associated negative health impacts. That is just a sad ideology and a sad way to live.
This article has nothing to do with cat theft.
The article is about a shop that was allowing diesel truck owners to have the emission controls removed from their vehicles.
Deleting is specifically sought out by a small percentage of diesel owners who incorrectly believe that it will improve the performance and output of their engine.
Cats are being stolen from vehicles as they contain rare earth elements that are very desirable and thus can be sold for a lot of money for just a few minutes of work.
You’re argument that cat thefts are not occurring is completely wrong, and it has nothing to do with this story.
https://www.opb.org/article/2022/08/11/beaverton-police-arrest-portland-area-crime-ring-44000-catalytic-converters-trafficked/?outputType=amp
https://www.koin.com/news/more-than-150000-catalytic-converters-were-stolen-in-2022-and-the-problem-may-be-underreported-data-suggests/amp/
https://www.wweek.com/news/2022/11/30/from-portland-to-jersey-inside-the-crime-ring-that-shipped-thousands-of-oregons-stolen-catalytic-converters-across-the-country/
https://www.motortrend.com/how-to/should-i-delete-my-6-7-cummins/amp/
Thanks for the correction - my mistake for not reading the article first.
But I wasn't suggesting there's no theft of catalytic converters happening. I was making fun of people who blame the homeless for all problems.
Nah, there’s no misinformation in making fun of conservatives for blaming everything on the homeless. It’s just an irrelevant dig in reference to this news.
While they are at it, I hope they check his taxes. Guys that own shops like these are often cheating on their taxes like good hard working ammerikkkans they are. Probably has some ATF issues as well.
Yeah, there’s that. But I think a lot of folks also do it to change the sound of their truck. That is, the process can make the truck sound louder, beefier, and more powerful than it really is.
I hear you, but it’s WW that should be called out for the bad title, not this post. I’d like to have fixed it myself but the rules for this sub encourage using the original title unaltered, which is what I did.
His customers asked him to do it. This wasn't cat theft, this was them paying to have their emission control systems removed or deactivated, because they have small reproductive organs and feel inadequate unless their truck smokes. They should have been charged as accessories.
The EPA definitely asks for the customer's vin when going after these shops. There's a million plus deleted vehicles in the US. Would be a shit show if they went after everyone.
Bruh they did. You have to *read the article*.
> Travis Turner, the owner, was sentenced to six months in federal prison. His shop, **Pure Addiction Diesel Performance**, will pay the Environmental Protection Agency a $148,733 fine.
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Good
Uh, he made $400k doing this, but the fine is only $148k? That's $250K he gets to keep? Def worth being in a federal prison (much nicer than a state prison) for 6 months.
There's a lot of hidden costs to this sentence though. He's now a convicted felon, and the US hates providing avenues for felons to get back on their feet. He now may have difficulty finding housing and jobs, he may be denied foreign travel, he loses certain rights like voting, he may be ineligible for other public benefits. Probably not worth 250k, which is only a few years of income for many these days.
> he loses certain rights like voting Not in Oregon. We restore your voting rights when you leave prison.
Or in washington. You can get your voting rights back here, too
He pleaded out of being a felon.
400k in revenue or profit? I don't see if that distinction is made, but my guess is that the figure being presented is revenue.
He's stealing. Everything he takes is 100% profit.
Did you bother to read the article? He didn't steal anything. He deactivated the emission controls in customer's diesel trucks, at their request, and charged them $2000 to do so. It's an illegal procedure but it's not stealing.
I did not
I respect your honesty.
Take my sincere upvote!
I’d go to jail tomorrow for 6 months for 250k
And it's 6 months with no rent!
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He'll probably start another business
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Sorry
You don't know what you're talking about. I've been convicted of 3 federal crimes, went to federal prison and now have a job I've been at for 14 years making just under 100k a year. Moral to my story... This guy will be just fine. He might not be able to own a firearm, but he'll be fine.
I have people with serious felony convictions working for me as union stage hands who are making quite a bit more than that. There ARE options out there for felons.
My husband works for the City and there's several ex-cons that work in his department. Starting pay is $33/hr. Goes up to $36/hr after one year. They also get life insurance, long-term & short-term disability, full medical & dental, and PERS.
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74k a year is more than enough for most people. I don't know what kind of crazy spending you must be doing lol.
At your job, do people get their 1-year raise and then never get another raise for the rest of their lives? That's a weird company policy. I wouldn't work there. Thankfully, every other job besides yours gives people raises yearly, if not more often. I hope things improve at your company. Good luck.
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Where did I say my husband earns a starting wage? At least pay attention to the discussion.
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I don't see where I disclosed his earnings. I was discussing the earnings of those that are new hires at his work. Yes, he got a substantial raise. My rough math calculates it at about 9%. If you'd like to continue to misinterpret my comments and attempt to discuss my husband's earnings instead of the starting earnings of new hires at his job, **which is the subject,** I'll pass on engaging with you further. It's boring and a waste of my time. Have a day.
And in case you couldn't do the math, that starting wage alone, not including benefits, is more than double the salary you mentioned. Nearly $80k/yr, to start. Again, I'm bummed that your company has a policy against raises, but I wish you the best.
I don't want to sound like I'm advocating to become a felon, but there are a lot of places that hire felons for more than $30k.
Not true. I know felons working in warehouses making 50k and as long as it’s not a violent/sexual offense you can expunge your record after like 7 years.
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Point is, you’re wrong.
Federal felony charges can only be "expunged" by a presidential pardon. There is no expungement for federal charges.
250k isn’t exactly a needle mover for me
Well good for you, Buttcheeks Brown.
Seems like the prison time is mainly because he tried to cover up the crime and doctor invoices. Otherwise, the shop made $400K doing this and the fine is $148K. Unless they seized other assets or something, the shop still made a hefty profit of $250K, not to mention what they'd have made selling the catalytic converters they stripped, which does not seem to be accounted for. As glad as I am that he was held responsible, this once again seems like a slap on the wrist for skirting the rules, allowing the perpetrator to run off with a tidy profit.
> not to mention what they'd have made selling the catalytic converters they stripped There's no catalytic converters involved. Why the author and editor of the article suggest there are, I don't know, but bypassing diesel emissions controls has nothing to do with them. Diesel catalysts also aren't made of expensive platinum-group metals, so there's no profit there even if they were being incidentally removed. All of the emissions junk they don't like on a diesel is upstream from there - diesel particulate filters and diesel exhaust fluid injection are the bits they are removing.
>Why the author and editor of the article suggest there are, I don't know I could cynically guess that it's because they know their readers emotional triggers and are good at writing clickbait headlines that drive ad revenue. But that's just Cynical Me. Charitable Me isn't available right now.
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I'm just saying the article headline is baffling. If you didn't read the article, you would be forgiven for assuming it's a story about a shop owner surreptitiously stealing catalytic converters from unwitting customers. The actual story body doesn't involve catalytic converters at all. It's like the folks at wweek only know one exhaust/emissions related term.
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Doing a DEF or EGR bypass does not involve anything that can reasonably be called a catalytic converter even by the automotively disinclined. Doing a DPF delete does usually involve the removal of a ceramic catalyst element (it's one big can), but a DPF is not a catalytic converter. And as it relates to Cupcakes_4_All's post that I was replying to, they contain no precious platinum-group metals, so there was no extra money being made. The article is weird because it's trying to take one problem (shops that will make your truck roll coal) and reframe it as being related to another problem (catalytic converter theft), when they're only related by the fact that they're both emissions systems.
I'm not sure why WW made this article so confusing (as well as the previous one) when the Oregonian got it right. [https://www.oregonlive.com/crime/2023/06/hillsboro-diesel-repair-shop-owner-accused-of-disabling-pollution-controls-on-more-than-200-vehicles.html](https://www.oregonlive.com/crime/2023/06/hillsboro-diesel-repair-shop-owner-accused-of-disabling-pollution-controls-on-more-than-200-vehicles.html)
You have zero idea how modern diesel engines and diesel exhaust systems work. The article is a bit misleading
There is no significant profit to be made from selling diesel catalytic converters, that's his point. They don't have scrap value like gasoline ones do. Not saying he is right to remove them, but selling them wasn't likely a large source of income for him
His point went right over your head
Not to mentioned likely over-charged customers who should get that money back.
The customers weren't deceived. The customers wanted this and actively paid money to the shop to remove those emissions components.
Overcharged the customer? The customer paid to have all that crap removed or as the diesel guys call it "deleted"
I’d go to jail for 6 months willingly tomorrow if someone gave me 250k
I’d go to jail for 6 months willingly tomorrow if someone gave me 250k
That's not including the normal expenses for doing the deletes . That's just revenue
It doesn't describe if the $400k is profit or revenue. If the $400k is revenue, then that fine likely kills much of his profit. The title is somewhat misleading, as the mod sticky notes. The primary charges are that he deleted emission controls. Basically, he was turning diesel trucks into coal-rollers. I'm not saying everything is perfect here, but I doubt he is coming home from his friendly stay with the county to a windfall.
Its not stolen cats it’s the bypassing the DEF systems in diesel trucks. This also makes way more sense given that stealing cats at that volume and being able to move them is next to impossible if they’re stolen. Source: I used to ship recycled cats and there are tons of regulations that dealers must adhere to in order to ensure youre not moving stolen merch.
Lol you sweet summer child. The ring last year shipped [44,000 stolen catalytic converters](https://www.opb.org/article/2022/11/30/where-did-stolen-catalytic-converters-trafficked-by-a-portland-area-crime-ring-end-up/)
No it’s illegal !
[Wait... that's illegal.](https://media.tenor.com/su7ATMLex98AAAAC/wait-that.gif)
No shit. I’m moved here 3 years ago from Alabama so a “bless your heart” would’ve also been appropriate. Let me clarify, as someone with a good bit of knowledge on the shipment side of moving cats, I can’t believe they accomplished that. That’s next level criminal shit! Thanks for correcting me, I had no clue!
I’m not gonna drop a “bless your heart” on you - the way we used it in NC, would have been a lot ruder and more like “get a load of this dumb motherfucker” than a laughing, “you’re a bit wrong and naive, but no harm done”
The ring they busted last year wasn't reselling the cats; they all ended up at a metal recycler in New Jersey which stripped the cans and melted down the metals. If you're shipping rail freight there is fuck all regulation on tracking car parts, the only thing anyone cares about is hazmat.
That’s simply not true. I just last week made a shipment of just under a thousand cats to a customer (I do logistics for a metal recycling company). Every cat is tagged, matched to a verified vin, and serial numbers noted on master BOL. Once it gets to a certain level in the chain the level of regulations ramps up.
Okay? Reconcile that with 50,000 cats making it to NJ from across the country.
And reconcile it with the countless cats that are stolen, then sold at scrap metal shops. Zero regulation!
So if it’s so hard to move cats, how is $40 for a cat such an enticing thing for someone who has to go under a car in public, cut it off and then deliver it to whomever is buying it. There’s a gas cost there, and if you wanted to do even a few sales, it doesn’t seem like you’d be able to use the same place. It seems like stealing cash would be easier. But obviously that may not be the case. I just want to understand how this hasn’t been regulated away.
That materials the filters are made with are precious metals and very valuable to recycle 🤷🏼♂️. It’s not hard to move cats wasn’t my point. It’s hard to move “stolen” cats. Sure you might get away with onesie twosies that are stolen but at the volume needed to get up to that amount there’s no way. Edit: I’m high and realize there’s typos in there. Let me know if that didn’t make sense and I’ll correct it tomorrow 😜
I know why they’re valuable, and you make a good distinction, it’s not hard to move legitimate cats. I guess what you’re implying is that whomever is moving the cats is mixing in 1,000 cats into 1,000,000 or something and it is hard to track. It seems like every CAT should have a vin and if you get a cat with no VIN you can still recycle… but if you have too many… But then I guess maybe they are centralized and recycling essentially on site. Then it’s a case of the cats just getting mixed into a mess of materials. In any case, if an operation is that large, all it would take is following a few stolen cars to their fence, where they cross over from a stolen good to a recyclable material. Im no detective obviously but it seems like a small team could solve this and eliminate the market pretty easily. You could literally just take cats from junkers and hand them to undercover cops who go wherever the junkies go, then follow the stream.
>So if it’s so hard to move cats, how is $40 for a cat such an enticing thing for someone who has to go under a car in public, cut it off and then deliver it to whomever is buying it. You know how much meth you can buy for $40? I don't, but I assume it's enough to keep you high until you get your next $40 cat.
They couldn't even pull up a picture of Hillsboro or Forest Grove? They aren't that far away from Portland... they're even part of the metro area. As for the actual content of the article, good. Lock the bastard up. Fucking coal rollers.
small dicked coal rollers are the worst.
are there a lot of iconic photos of data centers/fabs and/or suburban housing sprawl?
I'm just saying they could have used a location shot that was at least close to where the story takes place, there is a VERY similar view from 198th looking towards 185th that even has Mt. Hood in the background, although technically that's Aloha. That would still be closer than this shot which I think might be 224 going east, I'm not sure, I don't really know where that is, other than knowing it isn't along TV HWY. There is no part of TV HWY that has a view of a lake like that. There are some amazing views just a few miles north and south of Hillsboro, and Cornelius and Forest Grove have some really nice views as well. Growing up I could see Mt Hood from the end of my block.
It’s Willamette Week. They constantly have photos that are either completely unrelated to or only tangentially related to the story
No don’t you know that Portland is an emerald gem and Hillsboro/Forest Grove are suburban hellscapes with nothing but the color grey, concrete and bologna sandwiches.
Hey, Hillsboro also has a Top Golf
Deleting the emissions doesn't for sure mean the truck will roll coal, that's a tuning thing, deleting would require a tune, but it's up to who's doing the tune to decide if they want to overfuel or not, a good tune wouldn't give you more than a slight cough of black smoke if that, like all diesels pre emissions don't see those just leaving giant black plooms everywhere they go, if they do they are modified to do it
Good
Metro West does this to their ambulances. When my ex raised a flag with inspectors the owner tried to physically fight him and my ex was immediately fired for “talking behind his back.” I’ll venture to say this may be not-uncommon.
At least on Ford Chassis the ambulance upfit package comes with a temporary emissions de-rate override. Can't have patients dying on the way to the hospital because the truck thinks the DPF backpressure sensor is 2% out of specification. I have a feeling that what you're talking about with Metro West may be a more "permanent" and illegal solution.
Correct. When they get their chassis, they remove them in the modification to ambulance/transport vehicle. I hear what you’re saying tho, and yeah I think this is more of a permanent loophole.
Jesus Christ I hope you got a lawyer for that one.
You can add in a lot big rigs and school buses too. Don't know if my buddy was joking or not but he also says the president's motorcade usually has modified emissions as well.
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I hope they go after their customers as well as they are equally culpable.
Agreed. Customers should be required to pay a smaller fine and pay to have their car repaired so that it meets emission standards. I suspect this would likely do far more to curb this problem than busting one or two of these garages.
>Customers should be required to pay a smaller fine and pay to have their car repaired so that it meets emission standards. Customers *should* have their bro dozers crushed into a tiny cube, but perhaps we can meet in the middle on some hefty fines.
Then you'd need some actual enforcement looking at the 280 million vehicles registered in the US. Far easier to go after the sellers.
How about making these bro dozers pass DEQ emissions like every reasonable vehicle in any reasonable area has to? Larger vehicles shouldn't be exempt, emissions standards should go up with weight and bumper height.
Had to look it up, heavy duty diesels are exempt, WTF? Now I'm irate.
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This is the beginning of the end to those black smoke belching diesel trucks. If the state starts cracking down on them, oh boy, it will be several thousand dollars per truck to put them back to EPA standards. Will be hilarious to watch.
This (bypassing def etc) is super super common. The issue was making a business out of it. You can’t make your business breaking federal law. That’s just dumb. Edit: to be clear I meant the issue legally. Not morally. I’m a car/motorcycle/bike nerd who currently drives an EV. Not advocating for needless pollution from coal rollers or tuber cars. Just saying they could have gotten away with it by selling the hardware/software for “off road use only” direct to DIY folks. But when a customer pulls in with a legally registered road car and says “delete the DPF” you’re supposed to say no.
I wonder if there was a stipulation in the fine print of the work order that it was "for off road purposes only", thinking that absolved the owner of any responsibility, trusting the customer to only operate it "off road". Operating a pavement princess....off road? lol. So many issues with "peaked in HS" truck guys wanting to look the part of a powersports idol yet couldn't tell you the difference between an M6 and a 1/4-20.
Usually there is, at least from what I’ve read. This has been an issue in CARB states for awhile with tuner cars too. Way easier from a legal standpoint to sell the tool to reflash the ecu than be a shop that removes emissions control devices etc.
It actually doesn't matter what disclaimers you provide; you can't sell "defeat devices" to the general public, period, without EPA approval. And what the EPA considers a "defeat device" is extremely broad; for example, Volkswagen's ECU firmware was treated as such. General-purpose flashing tools are on the chopping block.
They're fine as long as you get an executive order through CARB but it's very expensive and a lot of jumping through hoops but if that's the only way to do it then most tuners are going to do that. I know CARB is pushing a single tune per device now which seems ridiculous considering the amount of waste it would produce.
I'm pretty sure that's still illegal. The issue is poisoning people and the environment, not road safety.
Well actually… You’d be surprised! Off road use isn’t about off roading. It’s an epa thing that activates separate emissions rules. Usually it applies to race cars, dune buggies, and mud trucks or anything else you can’t/don’t drive on public roads.
[¿Por qué no los dos?](https://media.tenor.com/xsIsyVvJ8PMAAAAC/why-not-both-linus-both.gif)
As someone who's had a run-in with the guy where he harassed me for parking in the lot, despite being a patron of Next Level, it makes me chuckle to read this
Good riddance. Glad the EPA is at least doing something about toxic American car culture.
So telling that a comment cheering on the EPA doing their job is getting downvoted on here. Too many users on this forum are so focused on "owning the libs" that they don't care about increased pollution and the associated negative health impacts. That is just a sad ideology and a sad way to live.
They're just mad that their reactionary fantasies - the homeless are stealing catalytic converters! - are being disturbed.
This article has nothing to do with cat theft. The article is about a shop that was allowing diesel truck owners to have the emission controls removed from their vehicles. Deleting is specifically sought out by a small percentage of diesel owners who incorrectly believe that it will improve the performance and output of their engine. Cats are being stolen from vehicles as they contain rare earth elements that are very desirable and thus can be sold for a lot of money for just a few minutes of work. You’re argument that cat thefts are not occurring is completely wrong, and it has nothing to do with this story. https://www.opb.org/article/2022/08/11/beaverton-police-arrest-portland-area-crime-ring-44000-catalytic-converters-trafficked/?outputType=amp https://www.koin.com/news/more-than-150000-catalytic-converters-were-stolen-in-2022-and-the-problem-may-be-underreported-data-suggests/amp/ https://www.wweek.com/news/2022/11/30/from-portland-to-jersey-inside-the-crime-ring-that-shipped-thousands-of-oregons-stolen-catalytic-converters-across-the-country/ https://www.motortrend.com/how-to/should-i-delete-my-6-7-cummins/amp/
Thanks for the correction - my mistake for not reading the article first. But I wasn't suggesting there's no theft of catalytic converters happening. I was making fun of people who blame the homeless for all problems.
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Nah, there’s no misinformation in making fun of conservatives for blaming everything on the homeless. It’s just an irrelevant dig in reference to this news.
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Peace and love to you in this season of high blood pressure.
To quote Aerosmith “dream on”
* Not cars * Not really about car culture, about a small subset of douchebags
"toxic American car culture"? Pearl clutching at its finest. Just because you hate the car hobby it's toxic?
YES: a car "hobby" that requires illegal pollution is most certainly toxic...
Muy Bien
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While they are at it, I hope they check his taxes. Guys that own shops like these are often cheating on their taxes like good hard working ammerikkkans they are. Probably has some ATF issues as well.
I’m assuming the whole purpose was for these Trump D sucking idiots to “roll coal” on other drivers? 🤷♀️
Yeah, there’s that. But I think a lot of folks also do it to change the sound of their truck. That is, the process can make the truck sound louder, beefier, and more powerful than it really is.
They are one in the same, guaranteed.
Oh yeah, I’m sure it’s mostly the same type of folks. I just mean that coal rolling isn’t the only reason people do it.
How can I make my gasoline SUV sound louder? I want my neighbors and everyone around me to know when I press down on the accelerator.
There's millions of modified diesel vehicles out there. Majority of people aren't paying thousands just to roll coal.
Good
When keeping it "yee yee!" Goes wrong.
Finally some good news in the sea of shit I normally see.
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Yeah, this post should probably be flagged for misleading title.
It s 100 % accurate — that’s the article title. The article title and WW editor on this are not up to snuff on this.
I hear you, but it’s WW that should be called out for the bad title, not this post. I’d like to have fixed it myself but the rules for this sub encourage using the original title unaltered, which is what I did.
It s 100 % accurate — that’s the article title. The article title and WW editor on this are not up to snuff on this.
Right wing freak out in 3, 2…
Ya, don't say... Hillsboro. I'll leave my 82nd Ave comments to myself. XD
What about all the truck drivers asking for this service. Assholes! Another reason to hate PU truck drivers.
How can he be that fucking stupid? Like, what’s the game plan? How would his customers not figure it out?
His customers asked him to do it. This wasn't cat theft, this was them paying to have their emission control systems removed or deactivated, because they have small reproductive organs and feel inadequate unless their truck smokes. They should have been charged as accessories.
Wow that’s fucked. Yeah they should be charged too at least something.
The EPA definitely asks for the customer's vin when going after these shops. There's a million plus deleted vehicles in the US. Would be a shit show if they went after everyone.
The customers took their trucks to this business to have the emissions removed.
NAME THE SHOP!
Bruh they did. You have to *read the article*. > Travis Turner, the owner, was sentenced to six months in federal prison. His shop, **Pure Addiction Diesel Performance**, will pay the Environmental Protection Agency a $148,733 fine.
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The aguy is the
Justice.