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NBC Bat Area, San Francisco, CA
May 12 2012
SF Cab Company Fights Fines, Organized Crime Accusations
Arrow Checker denies mob ties, sues city.
By Chris Roberts | Saturday, May 12, 2012
Gratchia Makarian is not in the Russian mob. He's not even Russian.
The Armenian-born owner of Arrow Checker, one of San Francisco's taxi
companies, has sued the city, saying that he's been defamed. But city
officials note that his company has had "hordes and hordes" of
problems, from poor disability access for customers to gouging drivers
for taking credit card fares, according to a Bay Citizen
investigation.
Makarian responded to the controversy by filing suit against the city,
in a legal action that names top city officials, according to the Bay
Citizen. But this comes after taxi enforcement found Arrow Checker
guilty of misdeeds of its own, including charging drivers more than
the $100 allowed per shift, refusing to cash them out after their
shifts, or sending them to a mysterious "Russian Lady," in whose
trailer drivers were cashed out for a 10 percent fee, according to the
Bay Citizen.
A $16.2 million fine was levied against the company in 2011, but that
was reduced to $6,000, the Bay Citizen reported.
Part of the problem is shoddy enforcement and investigation, according
to taxi experts. Only four full-time investigators with "rulebooks and
flashlights" are tasked with uncovering wrongdoing among the city's
1,500 licensed taxi drivers.
That doesn't include the driving services that operate illegally
without permits.
http://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/SF-Cab-Company-Fights-Fines-Organized-Crime-Accusations-151154835.html
May 12 2012
SF Cab Company Fights Fines, Organized Crime Accusations
Arrow Checker denies mob ties, sues city.
By Chris Roberts | Saturday, May 12, 2012
Gratchia Makarian is not in the Russian mob. He's not even Russian.
The Armenian-born owner of Arrow Checker, one of San Francisco's taxi
companies, has sued the city, saying that he's been defamed. But city
officials note that his company has had "hordes and hordes" of
problems, from poor disability access for customers to gouging drivers
for taking credit card fares, according to a Bay Citizen
investigation.
Makarian responded to the controversy by filing suit against the city,
in a legal action that names top city officials, according to the Bay
Citizen. But this comes after taxi enforcement found Arrow Checker
guilty of misdeeds of its own, including charging drivers more than
the $100 allowed per shift, refusing to cash them out after their
shifts, or sending them to a mysterious "Russian Lady," in whose
trailer drivers were cashed out for a 10 percent fee, according to the
Bay Citizen.
A $16.2 million fine was levied against the company in 2011, but that
was reduced to $6,000, the Bay Citizen reported.
Part of the problem is shoddy enforcement and investigation, according
to taxi experts. Only four full-time investigators with "rulebooks and
flashlights" are tasked with uncovering wrongdoing among the city's
1,500 licensed taxi drivers.
That doesn't include the driving services that operate illegally
without permits.
http://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/SF-Cab-Company-Fights-Fines-Organized-Crime-Accusations-151154835.html