Metro

Taxi honcho hit with huge penalty for ripping off drivers

Taxi kingpin Gene Friedman and four of his cab companies were slapped with a $1.2 million penalty by the state Attorney General for ripping off cab drivers, officials announced Thursday.

Friedman has to pay almost $750,000 in restitution to the drivers he took for a ride after his taxicab companies illegally overcharged drivers on the amount they pay, called the lease cap, to lease medallions and cars, as well as hitting them with fees that violate TLC rules.

He was also hit with $500,000 in fines.

The four companies he owns that are under investigation by Attorney General Eric Schneiderman control almost 900 of the city’s medallions. At an auction last month, just one pair of medallions sold for $2.5 million.

But the drivers who lease from him typically make only $125 for a 12-hour shift—before taxes.

“Imagine having a job you can’t do without and a boss that stole from your paycheck every week,” said Bhairavi Desai, executive director of the New York Taxi Workers Alliance, who said the enforcement sends a signal to the industry that drivers are no longer second-class citizens after decades of being overcharged.

Schneiderman said the investigators’ work with the Taxi and Limousine Commission will lead to less rip-offs of drivers in the industry. “Today’s agreement is the first major step in enforcing lease cap rules that protect workers and their already modest take-home pay,” he said.