Police: taxi employees withheld $158K in fares

Five taxi company employees withheld $158,100 in fares from their employer over the past five years, according to police.

According to Nassau County Police, the receptionist, dispatcher and drivers of All Island Taxi allegedly cheated the company out of revenue by not recording calls and trips in the company's records. Police say they did this from January 2011 to Feb. 7 of this year and shared the profits.

On March 2, police arrested Kristine Vlasaty-Ramacca, 52, of Island Park, James Ramacca, 58, of Island Park, Edmund Bonavoglia, 69, of Rockville Centre, Vincent Pecora, 65, of Baldwin and Vincent Bochilo, 75, of Oceanside.

Each of the accused was charged with second-degree Grand Larceny, first-degree Falsifying Business Records and fourth-degree Conspiracy. They were all arraigned on March 3 at First District Court in Hempstead. They were released on probation, and their next court dates are in April.

All Island Taxi owner Larry Blessinger first reported his suspicions to the Rockville Centre Police, who passed on the information to the Nassau County Police.

“We put a GPS system in the car,” said Blessinger. “And cars were showing up in places they weren’t supposed to be.”