Man being denied
taxi cab permit
Steven Toon knows he made mistakes.
He admits to driving drug dealers around when he was a cab driver in New Bern,
and he knows they were dealing drugs right out of his cab.
Toon now is being denied a taxi cab permit, but he said he is being
discriminated against.
"The man I was driving around sold the drugs to an undercover New Bern police
officer," Toon told New Bern aldermen Monday.
Toon pleaded guilty to a charge of conspiracy to sell and distribute a
controlled substance. He was put on 24 months' probation.
"I served the probation period and applied three weeks ago for a permit to drive
a cab, and the Police Department denied it," he said.
Before the drug conviction, Toon pleaded guilty to possession of stolen
property. He was on probation for 18 months.
"I drove a woman around on credit. She didn't have the money to pay. She said
her boyfriend would pay. He didn't have any money, but he gave me a power
drill," Toon said.
One day on his way to a day care center to pick up children, Toon said he was
stopped by New Bern police. "It turns out that the drill was stolen from a
hardware store. It was right up front between my seats in the van I was driving.
I wouldn't have had it up there for everyone to see if I thought it was stolen,"
he said.
After the possession of stolen property conviction, Toon said he was able to
keep his permit to drive a cab, which he has been doing in New Bern since 1986.
Toon said he believes he is a victim of discrimination because he is being
denied a permit. He said he knows he was driving drug dealers around, but he
also knows that, by law, a cab driver cannot turn down a fare.
"I drove known drug dealers around town. I drove them to restaurants, to
Greenville, wherever they needed to go. I knew that they were dealing drugs, but
I wasn't," Toon said.
The application for a permit to operate a taxicab in New Bern is a one-page
form. No health questions are included on the application. However, the question
"Have you ever been arrested or indicted? If so give complete information as to
date, place, charge and verdict" is included.
Another caveat on the application form states that the city reserves the right
to make a complete investigation of the applicant.
New Bern City Manager Bill Hartman promised Toon that he would meet with Police
Chief Frank Palombo. Palombo usually attends aldermen meetings, but was absent
Monday night.
"We only have half the story since the chief is not here," Alderman Max Freeze
told Toon.
Toon, 42, said Tuesday morning that he may file a lawsuit against the city if he
is denied a permit to operate a cab.
"All I want to do is to make a living," he said. "I will wait and see what they
do. I will continue going to the aldermen's meetings until they tell me
something."