catalytic converters being stolen

You'd think that this would be an easily answered question. If my plate, or plates were stolen, I'd probably think of myself as being the victim in that scenario. However, an Aurora man found out that things sometimes are just not that clear-cut.

Wasn't it just a few months back that we were being warned about people stealing catalytic converters off of parked cars? Wasn't a piece of hollow metal filled with rare-earth minerals enough?