One Piece at a Time

As Johnny Cash once sang, “I’d get it one piece at a time and it wouldn’t cost me a dime.” It appears a group of individuals took that lyric to heart, but it wasn’t to build a dream car. According to the Dearborn, MI, Police Department, an employee of Ford Motor Company is one of four individuals arrested in connection with what is suspected as a large-scale theft operation involving stolen vehicle parts from a Ford assembly plant.

This alleged seven-figure crime ring has affected several Ford plants, including the Rouge Complex truck plant in Dearborn, the Michigan Assembly Plant in Wayne, and the Ford Flat Rock Assembly Plant. These facilities are responsible for cranking out the Ford F-150, Bronco, Ranger, and Mustang.

Sources say suspects have been ripping off parts from these plants for over two years.

2021 Ford Bronco

The Smoking Gun

Parts stolen from these plants weren’t nuts and bolts smuggled in jean pockets. The items included hoods, bumpers, running boards, headlights, and taillights, making one wonder how the thieves walked out the door with these parts. They wouldn’t fit inside a lunch box. Moreover, the Detroit police department stated they found parts stacked to the ceiling during one of the searches, so it wasn’t a handful of parts either.

After the five-finger discount, the stolen parts were put up for sale on eBay. Not exactly the subtlest method for fencing stolen goods, considering it leaves digital fingerprints.

What happened to the good old days of buying hot items from the trunk of a Mercury Grand Marquis?

At the time of this article, charges are still pending. But the list of charges these aftermarket bandits could be facing includes grand theft auto, running a criminal enterprise, and good old-fashioned racketeering.

Dearborn Police Chief Issa Shahin told the local news station. “Such criminal plots will not be tolerated in Dearborn and we will employ all resources to bring them down.”

So, it may end up costing these criminals more than a dime.