| RIPTIDE | ▼ FLORIDA CHOP SHOP O CATALYTIC CONVERTER THEFT IS ON THE RISE — AND THE LEGISLATURE DOESN’T SEEM TO CARE. BY ALEX DELUCA n May 9, Nick Bofill was en route to work when an em- ployee of his bee-removal company, the Native Guy, called to let him know that one of their dump trucks was making a strange noise. When Bofill arrived at their warehouse on Bird Road to see what was wrong, it turned out the problem was in the exhaust system: specifically, the catalytic converter, a cham- ber mounted on the underside of the vehicle that reduces internal-combustion pollutants and is required in most states to pass emis- sion tests on cars and trucks. It was gone, excised from the truck’s belly with surgical precision. Bofill notified the police, but because the crime wasn’t clearly captured on the nearby surveillance cameras, not much could be done. Even though he was insured, Bofill wound up spending nearly two months and $10,000 to replace the part. Nine weeks later, on the evening of July 18, Bofill was leaving the warehouse when he spotted a car that had no license plate. His gut feeling was intensified by the sound of a saw whirring near the vehicle. He hopped in his truck, drove over to where the car was parked, and, “how a Dade County boy would do,” ran up to it. He confronted two young men, who said they’d been stealing tires. He called the po- lice, and when the officers arrived, he says, they searched the car and found three cata- GET MORE NEWS & COMMENTARY AT MIAMINEWTIMES.COM/NEWS ▼ FLORIDA ALL ABORT! U A FLOATING ABORTION CLINIC MAY SERVE FLORIDA VIA THE GULF OF MEXICO.BY ALEX DELUCA nder Florida’s newly enacted abortion ban, it is illegal to get an abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy, with no exceptions for victims of rape, incest, or human trafficking. If the state’s Republicans follow through on their threats, they might not stop there, Floridians who need abortions might be forced to travel hundreds of miles to North Carolina, Virginia, or Delaware in order to undergo the procedure. Or, if Dr. Meg Autry, an obstetrician-gynecol- ogist and professor at the University of California at San Francisco, has her way, they might not. Autry has floated the idea of an offshore repro- ductive health clinic in the Gulf of Mexico that would serve abortion seekers in surrounding states that have bans or restrictions in place. lytic converters that appeared to have been jacked earlier that night. “I wanted to get to the bottom of this be- cause my neighbor, the poor guy, got hit with six catalytic converters off of his trucks,” Bofill tells New Times. “So I thought they were gonna go hit him up again. Little did I know they were hitting up the next strip of warehouses.” Over the past several years, catalytic con- verters have become a hot target for thieves across the United States, as the price of the three precious metals that put the catalyst in catalytic — platinum, palladium, and rho- dium — has increased. According to the Na- tional Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB), an Illinois-based nonprofit that partners with insurance companies, police, and consumers to combat theft and insurance fraud, nearly 3,400 catalytic converters were stolen from cars in the U.S. in 2019. That number more than quadrupled the following year, then rose to a whopping 50,000 in 2021. Per the automotive website Edmunds.com, an adept thief can purloin a catalytic converter in un- der two minutes. In response to the epidemic, more than two dozen states have considered and/or im- plemented legislation to stem the tide. Mis- sissippi, for example, recently increased fines for anyone caught stealing a converter. And thanks to a new law signed by Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey, anyone who purchases an after- market catalytic converter in the state must report the sale and note any identifying mark- ings or numbers on the part. But while Florida has seen a similar trend in catalytic converter theft, lawmakers in Tal- lahassee appear to have no plans to crack down on the crime, according to the NICB. The NICB is tracking 152 different pieces of legislation at the state level. (A number of states have multiple laws under consider- ation.) Meanwhile, Florida is one of 13 states that aren’t on that list. Were it not for theft, a catalytic converter would last ten years or so. Replacement costs Photo courtesy of Nick Bofill What is wrong with this picture? (Hint: There’s something missing.) upward of $1,000, depending on make and model. (Generally speaking, the bigger the car, the more expensive the replacement part.) According to the NICB, converters from the Ford F-series trucks and Honda Ac- cord sedans are typically the most common targets for catalytic converter theft. Trucks, which ride higher off the ground, are at greater risk owing to easy access. Allstate offers tips to help prevent theft, including parking in well-lit areas close to public entrances, parking in indoor garages, not leaving your car parked in the same spot for days at a time, and painting your cata- lytic converter to deter aftermarket buyers. (And if your catalytic converter is stolen, it helps to have comprehensive insurance on your car.) Or, as Bofill would advise: “Just make sure you keep your cameras updated.” The project, dubbed Protecting Reproductive Rights of Women Endangered by State Statute (PRROWESS), already has a website, wherein it notes, “Our research indicates that patients are willing to seek care in a floating clinic, and these types of facilities have been used by the military and relief organizations for years” — a reference to the floating hospitals operated by the U.S. Navy. Word of Autry’s project emerged in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s overturning of the landmark Roe v. Wade abortion-access case ear- lier this month. While Florida isn’t one of the 13 U.S. states with so-called trigger laws that imme- diately banned abortions when Roe v. Wade fell on June 24, many expect the state will ban the procedure if the 2022 midterm elections solidify Republican control in the state legislature and the governor’s mansion. In other words, pregnant Floridians may not require a service like PRROWESS now, but that may well change. Autry tells New Times she launched the project to “provide services for individuals who are most affected by the assault on their bodily autonomy,” because she believes current efforts to help those people are not meeting their needs. According to its website, PRROWESS intends to operate a boat in the Gulf of Mexico for several weeks each month, offering free and low-cost surgical abortions onboard to people up to 14 weeks pregnant, as well as emergency contraception and sexually transmitted FLORIDIANS MAY NOT REQUIRE A SERVICE LIKE PRROWESS NOW, BUT THAT MAY WELL CHANGE. infection (STI) testing and treatment. The vessel will be U.S. Coast Guard-inspected, piloted by a captain and crew, staffed with a team of licensed healthcare providers, and equipped with helicop- ter access for emergencies. “Our goal is to be operating in the Gulf of Mexico for approximately three weeks out of each month, with flexibility built in depending on demand, weather conditions, and vessel mainte- nance,” the site states. In an interview with Slate, Autry said the boat will be based “somewhere where access is legal” and will be located within three to nine miles from the shore at each area it serves, depending on the state. Asked how patients will be trans- ported to the floating clinic, she declined to say, citing security concerns. Neither the project’s release date nor other details, including how patients will be able to schedule appointments for its services in the fu- ture, have been released. Autry says this will all depend on when the organization secures a boat. She previously estimated that it could cost around $20 million to get the project up and run- ning. The nonprofit is accepting donations via its website. [email protected] 33 miaminewtimes.com | browardpalmbeach.com | CONTENTS | LETTERS | NEWS | NIGHT+DAY | CULTURE | CAFE | MUSIC | miaminewtimes.com | CONTENTS | LETTERS | RIPTIDE | METRO | NIGHT+DAY | STAGE | ART | FILM | CAFE | MUSIC | MIAMI NEW TIMES NEW TIMES MONTH XX–MONTH XX, 2008 JULY 28-AUGUST 3, 2022
