Columnist Jeff German: Back-room dealing over kickbacks

Monday, June 20, 2005 | 8:49 a.m.

The Assembly bill that created turmoil within the taxicab industry the last two weeks may be dead.

But the mystery over how AB505 went from a good bill to a bad bill in the hectic final days of the Legislature hasn't died with it.

And that's unfortunate because, as long as this remains a mystery, it's going to taint the good work the Legislature did this session.

So maybe it's time to find some answers and restore confidence in the legislative process.

Gov. Kenny Guinn, thanks to a push from cabbies, was quick to veto AB505 when it landed on his desk Tuesday afternoon.

Guinn was furious over how a bill he had supported, to streamline the transportation regulatory process, wound up with an 11th-hour amendment banning cabbies from accepting gratuities from restaurants, strip clubs and other businesses. The amendment was obviously discriminatory because it excluded limousine and shuttle bus drivers who also receive these kinds of tips.

But the story doesn't end with Guinn's veto.

This week cabbies began circulating petitions urging the governor to call for a full-fledged investigation into the last-minute wheeling and dealing that almost cost them a good portion of their livelihoods.

And they might get their wish.

The governor, I'm told, believes the end run on AB505 deserves more scrutiny. This was a bill, remember, that was supposed to be beneficial to the state before it was compromised behind closed doors.

Guinn plans to take his concerns directly to legislative leaders.

But the matter also could wind up in the lap of Attorney General Brian Sandoval, who has authority to investigate alleged wrongdoing involving state officials.

Any investigation likely would start with Assemblyman John Oceguera, chairman of the Assembly Transportation Committee.

The Las Vegas Democrat acknowledges pushing through the amendment during a conference committee two days before the Legislature adjourned.

But he refuses to say who put him up to it.

The most likely suspects are the cash-rich strip club operators, who have been paying cabbies up to $25 a head to drop off passengers at their joints.

One operator, Olympic Garden owner Pete Eliades, is at the top of that list because he has tried to persuade previous legislatures to ban kickbacks to cabbies.

Eliades, a man with many political connections in the state, strongly denies having anything to do with the secret amendment.

His denial coincides with the bizarre emergence of a group of so-called businesses, called Citizens for Enforcement, that has come out against kickbacks.

The group, which refuses to identify its members, has tried to give Oceguera political cover.

It hired Jennifer Knight of Southwest Strategies, a company run by veteran consultant Billy Rogers, to put out news releases this week attacking the gratuity system.

Another player in this shady political game is strategist Mike Sullivan, who is close to Oceguera.

Sullivan, a registered lobbyist who represents Whittlesea Bell Transportation, which owns both limousine and cab companies, says he had nothing to do with the amendment.

But he admits that he later introduced Citzens for Enforcement to Southwest Strategies to help the group "put out some truth" about what the amendment was trying to accomplish.

Like Oceguera and Knight, however, Sullivan also won't reveal the identities of the group's members.

This is why it's important to keep a light shining on this back-room scheme.

There's too much tap-dancing going on here -- and too many people hiding in the shadows.