Task Force Arrests 30 in Sales of Stolen Car Parts to Repair Shops

Thirty people have been arrested in an investigation of auto repair shops and wrecking yards that bought stolen car parts from undercover officers, Los Angeles police said Thursday.

The arrests, made Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday at 14 such businesses, including nine in the San Fernando Valley, culminated a six-week undercover investigation, Lt. Frank A. Piersol said.

The suspects were arrested on suspicion of receiving stolen property, a felony, Piersol said.

The investigation involved more than 100 officers, including members of the Los Angeles Police Department, the California Highway Patrol, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, the state Department of Motor Vehicles, the state Department of Consumer Affairs, the National Auto Theft Bureau and five suburban police departments--Burbank, Glendale, Pasadena, San Fernando and Simi Valley.

Drop in Auto Thefts

The task force was started in April, 1988, to address a 30% increase in car thefts in the Valley in the preceding year, Piersol said. Heightened police attention to auto thefts has resulted in a 10% drop in the past year, he said.

Officers targeted the businesses because car thieves frequently strip stolen autos and sell the parts to auto shops and junkyards, he said.

Twelve of the businesses had valid licenses, Piersol said. The businesses made most of their money legally, but had begun buying and selling stolen parts on the side, he said.

“These were all legitimate businesses, as opposed to someone operating out of their garage or out of their car,” Piersol said. “We’re dealing with traditional business people who decided to branch out.”

Piersol said an undercover officer made at least two sales of stolen auto parts at each business. Many of the parts had been confiscated in earlier arrests, he said.

Described as Stolen

All of the buyers were told by undercover officers that the parts were stolen, police said.

In some instances, buyers made specific orders for parts or whole cars, Piersol said.

In one case, Piersol said, an undercover officer was paid $100 for a car valued at between $60,000 and $65,000.

“It seems like a great disparity, but at the very bottom ring of this black market operation, there’s not a lot of money being exchanged,” Piersol said.

Police did not provide a list of businesses targeted in the investigation, but reporters were invited to cover arrests made Thursday at Reza Automotive in the 15400 block of Delano Street in Van Nuys. The business is near the Police Department’s Van Nuys Division at 6240 Sylmar Ave.