Cabbies long-haul, regulators looks the other way

The perception about taxis is pretty much the same today as it has always been. Those who know anything about the Las Vegas taxi industry operate under the assumption that the politically powerful taxicab industry is pretty much in bed with the state Taxicab Authority, the agency which oversees the cab business.

Last week, your intrepid reporter waded into these treacherous waters in the form of some TV news reports which explored a heinous practice known as long-hauling. Current and former authority officers, as well as airport employees and dozens of taxi drivers all say long-hauling happens every single day at McCarran Airport. Drivers pick up passengers at the airport and head south, directly for the connector tunnel, as a way to travel to the Las Vegas Strip. Such a route typically adds four miles to the trip, which means the meter in the cab racks up at least $5 more than might have been charged using a more direct route than a jaunt on I-15.

Just about everyone -- except the TA and the taxicab companies -- acknowledges that long-hauling is rampant. In 2002, then-TA honcho John Plunkett, a former FBI agent with an impeccable reputation, had his agents run an undercover intelligence operation over the course of several months. They found that of every 10 trips from the airport, between six and eight were long-hauls. The authority back then estimated that long-hauling took millions of dollars per year out of the pockets of tourists and locals alike. Somehow, the information from that investigation has been lost or forgotten at TA under the new management. The current administrator, Gordon Walker, told me that after sampling 3800 taxi rides at the airport last year, he estimates that long-hauling occurs in about one-half of 1 percent of all rides.

I guess that would explain why the TA wrote a mere 71 citations in 2008 for long-hauling. In 2008, Las Vegas recorded 26 million cab rides. Out of those 26 million trips, a mere 71 drivers were found to be in violation of the long-hauling rules. This strongly suggests that a scofflaw driver would have a better chance of hitting Megabucks than getting nailed for long-hauling. Based on the statements of cops, drivers and others, it sounds like a lot more than one-half of 1 percent of all trips involve long-hauling.

An eager young Taxi Authority officer named Scott Lewis was assigned to the airport in 2007 and immediately wanted to crack down on the long-hauling that he and every other officer at the airport saw daily. Lewis says he was repeatedly told by his supervisors to knock it off, stop writing tickets, leave the cabbies alone or else it would cost him his job. Other current and former TA officers say they received the same admonition. When they tried to use their state vehicles to catch long-haulers coming out of the airport tunnel, their bosses responded by taking the vehicles away.

Lewis chafed under the restrictions that were imposed, but the more he complained, the more assorted allegations were leveled against him. The total number of alleged infractions is around 29 at this point, and while I have no idea whether he committed any of the infractions, it sure seems like his former employer is piling on a lot of nitpicky stuff, perhaps to damage his credibility. See, Lewis is fighting to get his job back and he has sought whistleblower protection.

The attempts by Lewis to gain whistleblower status might provide even more insight into the power of the taxi industry. Lewis filed a complaint with the Nevada Division of Investigation. Two detectives were assigned to interview him about his allegations of corruption within TA and influence by the taxi companies. The transcript of that interview is astonishing.

The two state cops not only advised Lewis to "shut the fuck up," drop his complaint and get back to work. They further suggested that, assuming he could get his job back, in the future, he should do whatever his boss tells him to do. "If he says pick up a pile of dog shit and eat it," Lewis should not only munch away but he should ask if "you got some sprinkles for that."

Attorney Greg Whicker, who is representing Scott Lewis in his long slog to get reinstated, has written to the Department of Public Safety, the parent agency for the investigation division, to inform them of the statements made by the investigators. In his letter, Whicker cites one additional excerpt from the remarkable interview. One of the cops gave this advice to Scott Lewis about the non-enforcement of the long-hauling law: "And if they say, 'Today, you don't touch Yellow Cab,' today I'm not touching Yellow Checker Cab. This guy can be driving by with his ass hanging out the window naked. I'm not touching his ... and if the boss says Western Cab gets a free pass or whatever, oh yes sir."

Here's the punch line. The deputy attorney general who represents the Taxi Authority has informed Lewis and Whicker that there is no justification for giving Lewis whistleblower status. One primary reason, in the eyes of the AG, is that the issues being raised by Lewis aren't of much interest to the public. That's right. The public in Nevada doesn't care if long-hauling is rampant or if cab companies have stifled enforcement. And to drive the point home even further, the AG has told Lewis it plans to call as witnesses the two state cops who made the outrageous statements above.

On July 7, the chief of Yellow Checker Star called a news conference to condemn my TV news reports and to defend the integrity of the authority. Just from a public relations standpoint, if the industry wants to prove that it is not in bed with the Taxicab Authority, it might want to allow the authority to defend itself rather than run to the rescue of the agency which is supposedly such a fierce and independent regulator.

George Knapp is a Peabody Award-winning investigative reporter for KLAS-TV Channel 8. You can reach him at gknapp@klastv.com.