The elderly victim who refused to pay $149 for a 75-foot cab ride at JFK Airport and then struggled with the illegal hack that drove him is a retired Russian police officer, according to his family.
“The driver had pressed on the gas and began to take away my husband in an unknown direction when he wouldn’t pay,” the wife of Vladimir Zakharov told The Post from Moscow.
“In the car, he struggled with failed attempts to remove the ignition key from the machine, but the car then finally stalled.”
Zakharov had gone into the bogus cab driven by Wayne Walker, 41, of Springfield Gardens, and asked for a ride to Terminal 2 at about 4 p.m. Friday.
When the short trip ended, Walker allegedly charged him $149. And when the elderly man refused to pay, Walker locked the doors and scuffled with him, bloodying his face and clothes, according to law-enforcement sources.
Zakharov has since come home, and the retired officer wants to tell Port Authority police how grateful he is.
“Thanks to the police for quick help, he wants to tell,” the wife said. “Thank you to the police.”
Meanwhile, the illegal cabby claims he was only trying to help out the lost man, who he said was drunk.
“I was trying to help the guy out. He was in the wrong terminal,” Walker said. “The guy was drinking in the car, he grabbed me from behind.”
Tourists told The Post that they are disturbed to see illegal cabbies at JFK.
“I would not have expected that in New York City,” said Sara Ibrahim, 15, who was approached illegally by a driver on Sunday. “That’s so creepy.”
Yellow cabby Samuel Cudjoe, 48, said unlicensed hacks are a nuisance and often prey on tourists.
“They stand inside and ask if people need cabs,” he said. “They take them to the city and tell them whatever price they want to charge.”