Tuesday, September 16, 2014
Inspectors seizing cars misidentified as illegal cabs
Ruthless TLC inspectors under pressure to meet quotas have made airport trips a nightmare — routinely seizing cars from regular drivers, including a wheelchair-bound woman, by claiming they are illegal cabbies, according to sources and a Post review of cases tossed by independent judges.
“They think they’re in an episode of ‘Kojak,’ ” said Jeffrey Berusch, who had his Mercedes taken away in July after driving a buddy and his wife to La Guardia after brunch at the Waldorf.
The inspector drove off with his car without even telling him where he was taking it, Berusch claimed.
The officer said Berusch’s passenger told him he paid $55 for the ride, but a judge at the independent Taxi and Limousine Tribunal didn’t buy it and dismissed the case.
The Post reported earlier this year how roll-call recordings reveal how bosses use pressure tactics like quotas to get officers to seize cars.
Crown Heights resident Yisroel Katzoff had his vehicle seized by the TLC after his father, Josef, asked him to drive a friend’s wife to JFK. But as is customary in the Hasidic faith, the woman could not sit in the front seat with a man who is not her husband.
“They confiscated his car and issued him a ticket,” said Yosef Katzoff, adding that his son was initially told to pay $1,500. “It was horrible.”
That case was later thrown out.
Last year the TLC launched a new unit at JFK to crack down on illegal hacks. But sources say its methods are too aggressive.
“It’s no surprise there’s so much concentration [of bad cases] in the airport squad,” one TLC source said. “They concentrate on quantity over quality. The bosses over there sacrifice their own and their officers’ integrity just to bring in the numbers.”
The Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings said that 582 seizure cases were heard between June 1 and July 15, with only 242 being found guilty.
A TLC spokesman said 278 of the remaining 340 cases did not go to a hearing and were settled with admissions of guilt. The rest were adjournments.
“Our officers are highly trained and well-experienced,” the spokesman said.
The spokesman also denied that TLC inspectors are under pressure to meet seizure quotas, saying: “Any allegations that quotas exist are inaccurate.” “Enforcement officers are encouraged to be observant and take the necessary actions based on those observances, and in the vast majority of cases – at least 87% during this particular period — those actions prove to be appropriate.”
A federal class-action lawsuit by drivers was filed against the TLC last week — including a handicapped woman left on the sidewalk of a JFK terminal when her car was snatched by the TLC with her scooter inside.
http://nypost.com/2014/09/15/inspectors-seizing-cars-misidentified-as-illegal-cabs/
“They think they’re in an episode of ‘Kojak,’ ” said Jeffrey Berusch, who had his Mercedes taken away in July after driving a buddy and his wife to La Guardia after brunch at the Waldorf.
The inspector drove off with his car without even telling him where he was taking it, Berusch claimed.
The officer said Berusch’s passenger told him he paid $55 for the ride, but a judge at the independent Taxi and Limousine Tribunal didn’t buy it and dismissed the case.
The Post reported earlier this year how roll-call recordings reveal how bosses use pressure tactics like quotas to get officers to seize cars.
Crown Heights resident Yisroel Katzoff had his vehicle seized by the TLC after his father, Josef, asked him to drive a friend’s wife to JFK. But as is customary in the Hasidic faith, the woman could not sit in the front seat with a man who is not her husband.
“They confiscated his car and issued him a ticket,” said Yosef Katzoff, adding that his son was initially told to pay $1,500. “It was horrible.”
That case was later thrown out.
Last year the TLC launched a new unit at JFK to crack down on illegal hacks. But sources say its methods are too aggressive.
“It’s no surprise there’s so much concentration [of bad cases] in the airport squad,” one TLC source said. “They concentrate on quantity over quality. The bosses over there sacrifice their own and their officers’ integrity just to bring in the numbers.”
The Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings said that 582 seizure cases were heard between June 1 and July 15, with only 242 being found guilty.
A TLC spokesman said 278 of the remaining 340 cases did not go to a hearing and were settled with admissions of guilt. The rest were adjournments.
“Our officers are highly trained and well-experienced,” the spokesman said.
The spokesman also denied that TLC inspectors are under pressure to meet seizure quotas, saying: “Any allegations that quotas exist are inaccurate.” “Enforcement officers are encouraged to be observant and take the necessary actions based on those observances, and in the vast majority of cases – at least 87% during this particular period — those actions prove to be appropriate.”
A federal class-action lawsuit by drivers was filed against the TLC last week — including a handicapped woman left on the sidewalk of a JFK terminal when her car was snatched by the TLC with her scooter inside.
http://nypost.com/2014/09/15/inspectors-seizing-cars-misidentified-as-illegal-cabs/
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