Man Stole Catalytic Converters In Wading River: DA

WADING RIVER, NY — A Shirley man was indicted for stealing six catalytic converters from recreational vehicles in Wading River, Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney said Thursday.

Blaise Marckesano, 38, stole the catalytic converters between Dec. 11 and Dec. 13, 2021 from recreational vehicles parked at W.E.S. Trailer Services in Wading River, Tierney said.

Catalytic converters are a part of a vehicle’s exhaust device and use precious metals in their center to reduce pollutants from a vehicle’s engine, Tierney said. Those precious metals, which include palladium, platinum, and rhodium, can be more valuable than gold and make catalytic converters a target for theft, he added. They can be stolen from underneath a vehicle in only a few minutes using a reciprocating saw, the DA said.

Marckesano was arraigned before Court of Claims Judge and Acting Supreme Court Justice Richard I. Horowitz on charges including one count of first-degree auto stripping, a felony; five counts of second-degree criminal mischief, a felony; five counts of fourth-degree grand larceny, a felony; one count of third-degree criminal mischief, a felony; and one count of petty larceny, a misdemeanor, Tierney said.

Judge Horowitz ordered Marckesano to be placed on supervised release; he is due back in court Feb. 28 and is being represented by the Legal Aid Society, Tierney said.