Thursday, April 23, 1998 | 10:50 a.m.
THE STATE TAXICAB Authority has taken an interest in the lucrative world of adult nightclubs in Las Vegas.
The Authority has launched a probe into allegations local strip-tease joints, looking for a competitive edge, are paying kickbacks to cabbies to steer business their way.
Drivers are said to be getting $10-$20 for each fare they drop off.
One adult cabaret recently circulated a flier inviting cabbies to a party with its all-nude dancers. On the flier, the club also promised to give the drivers $15 for each customer they bring to their establishment.
"It's an illegal and improper practice," Authority Board Chairman Jim Jimmerson says. "And it's being investigated."
The probe, being conducted with the help of city and county business license investigators, isn't likely to go over well with the cabbies who are winding up with extra bucks in their pockets.
John Mirkovich, a taxicab industry whistleblower who's been giving the Authority fits for months, acknowledges the practice is widespread among drivers. It has been for years.
Many even receive 1099 income forms from the nightclubs to report their extra earnings to the IRS, Mirkovich says.
But Mirkovich insists the cabbies regard the money as gratuities, not kickbacks.
"Before the Taxicab Authority starts messing around with the drivers, it should clean up its own house," Mirkovich says.
Mirkovich believes the Authority should be looking at more serious allegations of corruption within its own ranks.
The Authority, by no small surprise, disagrees.
State law prohibits drivers from accepting a "gratuity or any form of compensation" from anyone other than their employers or passengers.
Cabbies also are barred from diverting customers "from any commercial establishment."
Not every adult nightclub operator, it turns out, provides kickbacks.
Olympic Gardens owner Pete Eliades says his refusal to pay the drivers has slowed his business.
"I think it's wrong," Eliadis says. "As far as I'm concerned, it's a bribe. If I didn't have a popular place, I'd be out of business."
Eliadis, also a part owner of Yellow-Checker-Star Cab Co., says he's complained to authorities in the past, but little action has been taken.
Though the Taxicab Authority now acknowledges there's a problem, finding money to conduct the investigation won't be easy. The agency has a limited budget for such an ambitious project, which likely will involve undercover work.
Several options reportedly are being considered, including seeking cash from private business and asking the Interim Finance Committee for additional funding.
Just word of the probe, however, is likely to have cabbies looking over their shoulders.
Not all news coming out of the Taxicab Authority, meanwhile, is bad for the cabbies.
The Authority's five-member board has agreed to create a new safety committee to find ways to protect the drivers on the streets. Two drivers have been murdered since December.
Jimmerson says he's excited about the possibility of creating a high-tech satellite tracking system for all cabs that could be operated by a central dispatcher.
He says he also would like to see all taxis equipped with cellular phones that can access an emergency hotline to Metro Police.
Installing cameras in the cabs, he adds, also will get strong consideration.
In the meantime, Jimmerson says, the Authority hopes to persuade cabbies that taking kickbacks from the adult nightclubs could end up being costly.
The Mike Tyson Born Again Boy Scout Blitz has begun.
The troubled ex-heavyweight champ isn't waiting until July to tell the Nevada Athletic Commission that he no longer has a taste for Evander Holyfield's ears.
Tyson this week cranked up his high-powered PR machine posing for the cameras with inner city youngsters at the All Star Cafe.
And the media has eaten it up.
Expect Tyson and his well-paid handlers to pull off more of these stunts before he petitions the commission in July to give him his boxing license back.
Wonder if the Commission will buy it?
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