Bronx Tow Truck Drivers Arrested

They were arrested on May 3, 2011 and charged with grand larceny auto and criminal possession of stolen property. Another nine tow truck drivers were also busted and charged with falsifying business records.

The drivers, who were working independently, made $400 to $500 for each car they dumped as scrap metal at New England Auto Parts in the Bronx, police said. They got away with the scam by using phony information on DMV forms, which allows cars worth less than $1250 and eight years or older to be scrapped.

NYPD investigators were tipped off after grand larceny auto numbers suddenly began to spike after the thieves swiped 16 cars off the streets and sold them as clunkers to a junkyard, police said.