New York City Police officials identified over a dozen local suspects after arrests were made and individuals charged with grand larceny auto and criminal possession of stolen property. Other tow truck drivers were charged with falsifying records.
These tow truck drivers, who were working independently, made about $500 for every car they dumped as scrap metal at New England Auto Parts in the Bronx, according to police. They got away with the scam by using phony information on NY-DMV forms, which allows cars worth less than $1250 and eight years or older to be scrapped.
NYPD investigators say they became suspicious when grand larceny auto stats began to rise after the thieves swiped 16 cars off the streets and sold them as clunkers to a junkyard.