Steve Miller, in his article, writes how on January 17, the Las Vegas City Council extended the temporary liquor license of Crazy Horse Too operator Mike Signorelli for another 90 days. Signorelli, who claims to be a bonafide buyer for the club, is scheduled to face the Council again on April 18 to ask for a permanent license, or face closure.
Signorelli admitted that he’s not paying Crazy Horse owner and convicted felon Rick Rizzolo rent, and that he may not be able to close the purported $45 million dollar purchase for several years. He blamed his lack of cash on the high cost of illegally paying off cab drivers to bring patrons to his business.
During the January Council hearing, Signorelli’s attorney, Jay Brown, who is intimately connected with Mayor Oscar Goodman and Senator Harry Reid, admitted that the topless bar is paying cab drivers to deliver customers.
Councilman Steve Ross remarked that Signorelli is “running this business outside the law” based on his admission, while Mayor Pro Tem Gary Reese emphasized that a liquor license is a privilege that must be exercised in the moral best interest of the community.
Councilman Steve Wolfson informed Signorelli that he would not tolerate any infractions of the law and ordered him to stop paying cabbies, and Signorelli and his attorney, Brown, agreed to abide by the order.
Business at the Crazy Horse immediately decreased, probably because cab drivers diverted customers to bars that paid them a bounty.
Miller reports that Signorelli is again paying for customers delivered to Crazy Horse Too, and his current pay off is $70.
But wait…here is an excerpt from an article, Cameras helping fight crime, taxi officials say,
from about 20 months ago.
A taxi driver is assaulted by a late night reveler while his companions look on from the back seat. A transient takes off in a cab left running outside a convenience store. Another man argues with a cabby over an unpaid fare and chokes the driver before fleeing. Yet another steals a taxi while the driver delivers dinner to his wife, then proceeds to rack up charges on the driver’s credit cards.
All of these suspects were caught in the act in recent weeks by cameras mounted in taxis, according to the Nevada Taxicab Authority. Photos and video identifications led to the arrest of two of the suspects, while the remaining two fled to California. One was arrested on other charges, and the other still is wanted.
“The cameras are definitely working,” said Rob Stewart, a spokesman with the Taxicab Authority. “It’s all about case solvability.”
Meanwhile, the Taxicab Authority, the taxi drivers’ union and cab company owners continue to argue about proposed rules governing just how far companies can go to monitor what happens in taxis.
Really. Is that because while cameras are capturing crimes against cab drivers, those same camers might be capturing cabbies taking illegal payoffs for diverting customers to certain clubs? While the Las Vegas City Council orders Signorelli to stop paying, is it just more Las Vegas business as usual that others continue to do the same? I wonder just who has access to these videos and whether Metro’s Intelligence division or corruption unit should consider viewing videos, either by polite request or subpoena. If cabbies are taking illegal payoffs, it is easy to see why the taxi drivers’ union might be concerned. It appears the cameras might be working–just not only on the crimes they were intended to capture.