Fisk Limousines, a springfield fixture for 45 years, is one of the many companies hit hard by catalyst thieves

SPRINGFIELD, MO. (KY3) – Catalytic converter theft remains a huge problem in the Ozarks and one of the better known companies in central Springfield has its share of the problem.

“This is too big a problem in Springfield and Greene Counties to do nothing about it,” said J. Howard Fisk, a Springfield civic leader who founded Limousines in 1976 with his wife Jan Fisk. The company actually offers a variety of transportation services, from charter buses and the Missouri campus bus service “Bearline” to its well-known limousines used by generations of local residents for weddings, balls, graduations, birthdays … any kind of celebration or just someone who wants to spoil themselves with a fancy ride.

But during the pandemic, when no one went out, the business dried up.

“Our buses were locked in the parking lot,” said Fisk. “We were like everyone else in the hotel industry. Hotels closed, restaurants closed. We stopped our transit system at the university after all the children went home in March (2020). All congresses have been canceled. All planned weddings were gone. And it was devastating because our expenses kept going. “

As if that wasn’t enough of a hassle, another financial hit came when thieves showed up on numerous occasions and stole around 40 catalytic converters from buses and cars that cost over $ 3,600 each to replace.

That’s over $ 100,000 worth of stolen items.

“That was just an expensive hit,” admitted Fisk. “We didn’t have the money to fix vehicles we weren’t using.”

And that assumes you could find a replacement.

“First we ordered a replacement and got it in a couple of weeks,” explained Fisk. “Now we’ve got to a point where there’s such a theft problem in southwest Missouri that the factory catalytic converters aren’t even available. The whole church suffers from this. The garage that does our job is going to tell you that when I call and say we lost some catalytic converters they say, ‘Yeah, you’re about the fifth or sixth caller we got this morning, and we I don’t have any. ‘”

Fisk has security footage of some of the crimes. A clip shot one night when four converters were stolen shows two men pulling up in a truck and casually getting to work.

“We know this is a late-model blue GMC pickup,” said Fisk. “They cut through the fence, cut off four catalytic converters, and left. But not just one or two people do this in town. It’s 50 or 100 because there are minimal inputs to do it. Anyone without a conscience can find a van or bus, shimmy under it and be outside in a few minutes. “

Fisk admits he’s frustrated with the rise in crime and apparently isn’t the only one. A shop next to his property has a homemade wooden sign on the back that reads: “Attention! Break in, you die !! “

Fisk has made its property more secure, even painting its converters bright red and printing the company’s name on it, a suggestion that security experts say would deter thieves from stealing converters because they are easily recognizable to police or junkyard employees would be easily.

So what happened after the catalytic converters got the new paint job?

The thieves came back and got nine more.

“So that won’t protect me that much,” said Fisk with a laugh. “However, it can mean that people who do this are recorded across the city.”

And Fisk is really upset about that. It’s not that catalyst thieves attack his business, but rather places like schools, churches, and nonprofits.

“All of these nonprofits that run special programs for people in our community,” said Fisk. “These catalyst thieves robbed all of these people who really need these support services like food, afternoon programs for children, or services for the homeless and the elderly. If you steal from these nonprofits, you really are a despicable person. “

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