By Steve Miller, AmericanMafia.com
Monday, February 12, 2007
LAS VEGAS - In this2005 Las Vegas Sun photo,hundreds of local cabbies are shown blocking the Las Vegas Strip inprotest of a bill passed by unanimous vote of the Nevada Legislaturethat would have prohibited many of them from taking pay offs from stripclubs and other adult businesses while allowing limo and shuttle vandrivers to continue the practice unimpeded.
After the 2005 bill was approved, former Governor Kenny Guinn vetoedit when cabbies -- on company time and using company equipment -- shutdown the Strip and threatened to shut down the airport.
Governor Guinn claimed to have received over 500 calls and emailsasking for his veto. Using the reason "Taxicabdrivers contribute greatly to the economy of this state," and that thebill was unfair because "It singles out and hurts the financialwell-being of taxicab drivers" (whileallowing limo and shuttle van drivers to extort at will), he dutifullysigned the veto while not taking into consideration the direconsequences that doing nothing would inflict on tourists and localbusinesses.
Shortly after his veto, some taxi drivers declared victory and vowed touse the same obstructionist tactics in the futureto accomplish their goals if the need again arises. Cab company ownersremained silent, though average citizens complained loudly about beinginconvenienced and threatened, along with their continued complaintsabout receiving poor taxi service in the outlying areas before thedemonstration.
Then last week, the 2007 Nevada Assembly amazinglycowered and voted 42 - 0 to supportGuinn's veto thereby legalizing extortionthroughout the state! Maybe the casinos blocked by the protestingcabbies told their elected representatives to acquiesce for fear offuture demonstrations on the Strip or airport. Whatever the reason, itwas one of the biggest shockers in the history of the Silver State.
Now,other businessowners are reporting that they also are being extorted if theydepend on tourist business. These include wedding chapels, well knownoff-Strip restaurants, pawn shops, bridal shops, and florists.Remember, the state government is supposed to be protecting theconvenience and necessity of all citizens, not just taxi and limodrivers. But Governor Guinn seemed to miss this fact and many smallbusinesses are left paying the price.
Now its up to our new Governor, Jim Gibbons, to straighten out thismess before a few cabbies -- through threats -- are able to take overthe state any time they see fit by using their boss' equipment to snarltraffic and cripple the tourist economy while leaving many localswalking or taking the bus.
Some cab and limo company owners are known to condone the practice ofsome drivers diverting passengers for profit. It saves those owners theexpense of having to pay a living wage with benefits. It also allowsthem to claim they need more vehicles to meet the needs of locals andconventioneers.
After no company owners complained when their equipment and personnelwere involved without permission in the 2005 civil disobedience, someobservers began to speculate that another scheme was in the works. Theyalso wondered how our State government could be so controlled by thethreat of only one industry, and why the public's roadways were allowedto be used to threaten the Governor, especially when the taxi industryis supposed to be regulated by the state?
Keepin mind that most cab and limo drivers in Vegas are moral law abidingcitizens like this driver who wrote to INSIDE VEGAS:
"Steve:Regarding 'club runs', having driven a cab in Vegas for some 140 dayssince July of 2005, I wouldn't rely on those 'tips' to pay for my foodbudget, much less the rent. In my experience, with only a couple ofexceptions, when passengers desired to go to a club, they knew exactlywhere they wanted to go. And that's just where I took them. Noquestions asked. Plus, as I understood it, any diversion of passengerswas not only illegal, more important, it was unethical. Out of some3200 trips, there were only two instances that I can recall being askedfor a recommendation regarding a strip bar when I collected any extradough from having made one." - Jon
And there are many moreethical drivers who feel the same, but I understand that most of themwork the less lucrative day shift when "club runs" are not soprevalent. After the sun goes down things change. That's when you seedozens of idling cabs in front of every strip club up and downIndustrial Road while local citizens wait and wait and wait for a cabto the airport. Also, the doormen at the major hotels want a cut, andwill only direct guests wishing to go to an adult club to the cabs andlimos of drivers who give them a hefty kick back. Hotel managementlooks the other way in typical "What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas"style. No one seems to care that thousands of our tourists are being rippedoff, extorted, and sometimes beat up after they arrive at an illicitsex business they may not have originally intended to visit --something else the transportation company owners would rather not beheld liable for.
On that subject, Brent KentonJordan, the formerstrip bar bouncer turned author of the best selling novel "Stripped,"tells INSIDE VEGAS:
"Steve: The standardcabdriver extortion rate is currently (for the past several months, andas of today) $70.00 per head. Kevin Kelly at the Spearmint Rhino wasthe last holdout at $30.00 per head until this past week, where hebroke down to the pressure. The Rhino, in court documents, claims theypaid out over 10 million dollars in 2005, alone (at $30.00 per head). Ican understand the spineless politicians cowing down to these terroristcabdrivers (what else would you call a group that boycotts businesses,shuts down the strip, and threatens to shut down the airport if theirextortion money is cut off?) but how is it that the IRS is ignoringthis? Look at the numbers: 10 million per year from the Rhino, andsimilar amounts from Cheetahs, the Crazy Horse, Treasures, The OlympicGarden, Sapphire, Club Paradise... (all the clubs––over thirty––nowpaying, with the exception of the Palomino). Possibly fifty milliondollars per year divided between, maybe a hundred cabdrivers who workthose areas and shifts. Millions in and out of the clubs and cabdriverpockets without a dollar in taxes being paid. What about HomelandSecurity? Do you suppose any of those millions are being funneled toterrorist organizations (without making any obvious references tocabdrivers with mideast and Somali ties)?"
In the case of cab andlimo drivers diverting tourists to businesses that pay per customerdelivered, keep in mindthat some shuttle vans have 20 or more seats!
Unscrupulousdrivers can make hundreds or possibly thousands of dollars per night byjust waiting in the queue in front of anyIndustrial Road strip bar for patrons who want to go to another stripbar -- recommend the closest one that offers pay offs, and drive a fewblocks down the road. In some instances, the only reason gasoline isused is to power the auto air conditioners while vehicles sitmotionless in the queue. When they do hit the street, its only for acouple of blocks, and the whole scenario starts over again until thesun comes up. In the meantime, radio volume is turned down, and localresidents wonder why they can't get a cab?
Because of the current situation, there's no need for the regulatingagency known as the Nevada Taxicab Authority (T.A.) whose only purposeis to make sure new companies don't get approved to compete withexisting cab and limo operators who are famous for giving generouspolitical campaign contributions to Governors, and wining and dininghis appointed T.A. commissioners.
Nevada has strict laws that protect the exclusivity of the owners andtheir desire to squelch competition. The "Public Convenienceand Necessity"law allows each owner to "intervene" when a new operator applies for ataxi or limo certificate. The intervention permits company attorneys toclaim an "adverse impact" if competition was allowed -- that theirclient would suffer financial harm with new competition. Because ofthis law that has been ruled unconstitutional in 47 states, Nevada onlyallows several companies to ply our streets with cabs, limos, andshuttle vans. Those outsiders who apply for certificates soon learn anexpensive lesson like that taught to Music Express Limousines, one ofthe nation's largest limo companies, when they tried to get a permit tooperate in Clark County (Las Vegas).
It seemed that the "public's convenience and necessity" was overpoweredby the existing company's convenience and necessity to limit legitimatecompetition.
At the time, I was fresh off the Clark County Regional TransportationCommission where I had spent four tumultuous years exposing the $10 -$17 million per year skimmingoperation of the former transit bus system on the Strip. Like mostformer public officials after leaving public office, I opened aconsulting business, and my first client was Music Express.
After spending a quarter million in legal fees, a hearing was heldbefore Governor Bob Miller's appointed Nevada Transportation ServicesAuthority. At that hearing theother limo operators sent their attorneys to plead that there would bean "adverse impact" on their business if Music Express was allowed tooperate in Nevada.
Knowing the players on the-then Nevada TransportationServices Authority,I soon realized I would have to become a bag man to make it work, andthat's not my style. I told my clients who immediately pulled out. Thefirm with branches in New York, Washington D.C., LA, and San Franciscofolded their tents and left Sin City never to return. They were toolegitimate to do business in Nevada.
Imagine the same set of rules for pizza parlors, dry cleaners, orbeauty salons? Someone who legitimately applies for a business licensewould have to face the high powered attorneys of the neighborhoodcompetition who would appear at a hearing officiated by a bunch of paidoff appointees of the Governor who say the new business will cause an"adverse impact" on existing pizza parlors, dry cleaners, or beautysalons, therefore no competitive license should be granted.
Sound ridiculous? It would be in any other town. But in Sin City, it'spar for the course, at least with taxicab, limo, shuttle van, and towtruck companies.
At present, no new "Certificate of Public Convenience andNecessity" can be issued without theapproval of the men and women the former Governor appointed to thestate Taxi Authority or TransportationServices Authority,and many of those same men and women are notorious for taking bribes.
Get the picture?
Taxi and limo certificates or medallions should be available to anyonewith a commercial drivers license and insurance who wants to fulfillthe American Dream. Why doesn't Nevada allow one owner - one cabbusinesses? Or allow new operators to own fleets? Ask our new GovernorJim Gibbons? It all depends on who he plans to appoint to his nextstate transportation boards and commissions, and whether they enforcethe laws that are supposed to protect the public's best interests.
Meanwhile, call at least two hours in advance for a cab to McCarranAirport if you need to catch a red eye.
Copyright Steve Miller
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