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While driving his quarry to the chop shop, Wills kept a red plaid scarf -- his trademark -- wrapped tightly around the steering column to hide the damage and avoid suspicion. He used the same red material to block the warehouse's windows and keep out prying eyes. A stern taskmaster, he forbade drug use by employees and demanded that they keep the garage immaculate. Oil spills were mopped instantly, while car parts were piled like groceries -- in perfect stacks. Ever wily, he split his operation into distinct divisions: thieves and choppers. No one but Wills knew the complete workings of the business. Still, the boss could not resist the occasional bit of brazen bravado. Detectives trailing him once saw Wills calmly lean out the window of a hot 1970 yellow Corvette to banter with a policeman.
After dismembering the cars, Wills and his cronies -- most of them fellow body builders -- would burn the identification plates and sell the scrap metal to a junkyard. The usable parts were then loaded into a rented 24-ft. Penske trailer and hauled to a salvage yard in West Hazleton, 70 miles northwest of Philadelphia. There, Wills' All-Brand Auto Parts received cash for the stolen goods. The FBI suspects, but cannot prove, that the salvage yard was placing orders to Wills to steal particular brands of cars.
Wills also offered his services to people who fell behind on their car payments -- not an unusual situation in the economically depressed steel towns of Bucks County. His customers included a computer-software manufacturer, hairdressers, truck drivers, restaurant workers, anybody. One Wills crony, Albert Falls, would hang out at a local diner, the Golden Dawn, spreading the word that customers could ditch their cars in the parking lots of shopping malls -- after first placing $200 under the floor mat. The car owners were asked to wait two weeks before reporting the car stolen and collecting the insurance. By then, all that was left of the vehicle was a bucket of bolts.