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Banking Executive Forces NYC Cabbie to drive to CT, refuses to pay, stabs driver

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J

JzeroT1437

Member
http://gothamist.com/2012/03/02/banker_charged_with_hate_crime_afte.php

A "highly placed" executive with Morgan Stanley was charged with assault, theft of services and second-degree intimidation based on race or bigotry after allegedly stabbing a cab driver in a dispute of a fare, the Stamford Advocate reports. On Wednesday night a reportedly intoxicated William Bryan Jennings, 47, hailed a cab in Manhattan and instructed the driver to take him to Darien, Connecticut, some 45 miles away. The unidentified driver insists he told Jennings how much it would cost, but when they arrived at his $3.6 million home, Jennings felt the $294 fare was "extortion." He's an investment banker, so we can only assume he knows what he's talking about.

Then things got cra-zay. Jennings offered the hack a "reasonable’’ offer of $160, according to his attorney, Eugene Riccio. But the driver would not listen to reason! Prosecutors say the cabbie refused to let Jennings out of the cab and drove off in search of a policeman. But he didn't get far from Jennings's home before the banker allegedly stabbed him in the hand. "He puts up his hands and gets stabbed in the hand,” Darien Detective Ronald Bussell tells the Post. The driver had to get stitches and pay the full fare to the cab's owner because Jennings "bolted."

Jennings also allegedly shouted racial slurs at the driver, hence the hate crime charge. But remember, there are two sides to every dispute, even if one side sort of sounds like bullshit. "In our view, it was Mr. Jennings who was the subject of an abduction, and should be the victim in this case, not the defendant," Riccio tells the Advocate. "He was the subject of an abduction." According to the lawyer, the driver was running stop signs and red lights, and Jennings, fearing for his safety, took out the folding knife he uses for fishing trips.
Riccio says Jennings held the knife up to show the driver he meant business and ordered him to stop the car. But the driver tried to grab the knife away from Jennings, and that's why he got cut, according to Riccio. Jennings turned himself in to police on Wednesday and later posted a $9,500 bond, the Darien Times reports. Anyway, just another reminder to watch out for bloodthirsty bankers.

Update 1:45 p.m.: Morgan Stanley has placed Jennings on a leave of absence. The Post reports that Jennings, who works as co-head of North American fixed-income capital markets at the investment bank, has been relieved of his duties until this whole mess is resolved (with the inevitable slap on the wrist). Tiny violin manufacturing: America's #1 growth industry!
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Biff

Biff

Member
lol you can't kidnap someone for not paying a cab fare.

The passenger was an asshole for refusing to pay, but that cabbie is an idiot for locking the doors and driving away with him as a prisoner.

He should just let him go, then go find a police officer. He knows where the guy lives for god's sake.
 
Squirrel Killer

Squirrel Killer

Member
Wait a minute... let's take another look at the cabbie's side of the story...

Jennings offered the hack a "reasonable’’ offer of $160, according to his attorney, Eugene Riccio. But the driver would not listen to reason! Prosecutors say the cabbie refused to let Jennings out of the cab and drove off in search of a policeman.
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What's the law here, are cabbies allowed to refuse to let someone out before they pay the full fare? If they drive the refusing-to-pay passenger off away from the destination is search of a cop, does the meter still run?
 
Pagusas

Pagusas

Elden Member
Squirrel Killer said:
Wait a minute... let's take another look at the cabbie's side of the story...



What's the law here, are cabbies allowed to refuse to let someone out before they pay the full fare? If they drive the refusing-to-pay passenger off away from the destination is search of a cop, does the meter still run?
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lol if the meter kept running. No matter what you cant just abduct someone like that. He should have told the banker that he would go get the police if he did not pay. Let the banker storm off into the home, get a police officer and bring the officer back to the house to get full payment. All the while reporting back to his dispatch the entire time, so there is some form of a witness. At no point should he have driven off with the Banker in the car.
 
Trojita

Trojita

Rapid Response Threadmaker
I usually see the criminal that did this get like at least 10 different charges (that are usually pretty much the same thing in a bullshit way). Like Assault, Assault with a deadly weapon, etc.
 
D

Davidion

Member
I have trouble finding cabbies to take me over the fucking Queensboro at times, and this ibanker found someone who'd take him into Connecticut? 1% indeed.

Feel bad for the cabbie, but driving off with the guy probably wasn't the smartest idea.
 
Kacho

Kacho

Member
Driving off with someone because they didn't pay is not the way to handle the situation and could easily be considered abduction. Both guys are at fault here. Can't wait to see what happens.
 
D

Dead Man

Member
If someone not only stiff me, but that means I will be paying $300 out of my pocket, you can be damn sure I am finding a cop quickly. I don't know if I would do it with the guy still in the cab though. Do cabs over there have cameras in them?
 
D

Davidion

Member
Dead Man said:
If someone not only stiff me, but that means I will be paying $300 out of my pocket, you can be damn sure I am finding a cop quickly. I don't know if I would do it with the guy still in the cab though. Do cabs over there have cameras in them?
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Yellow cabs do not.

Also keep in mind that there are a lot of immigrant cabbies in NYC; many would be absolutely dumbfounded when faced with a situation like this.
 
Kacho

Kacho

Member
Dead Man said:
If someone not only stiff me, but that means I will be paying $300 out of my pocket, you can be damn sure I am finding a cop quickly. I don't know if I would do it with the guy still in the cab though. Do cabs over there have cameras in them?
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I don't think so. You just let the asshole get out of the cab and ask the cops to come to your location to resolve the money dispute.
 
D

Dead Man

Member
Davidion said:
Yellow cabs do not.

Also keep in mind that there are a lot of immigrant cabbies in NYC; many would be absolutely dumbfounded when faced with a situation like this.
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I can see the guys point then. There is no way he is getting his money if he lets the guy out. Guy will run inside and claim he never left.
 
D

Davidion

Member
Dead Man said:
I can see the guys point then. There is no way he is getting his money if he lets the guy out. Guy will run inside and claim he never left.
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Not to mention that the claims of "extortion" is utter horseshit. The cab ride is metered and any fucking moron who's partied in Manhattan for any extended period of time would have known how the time works, nevermind a crackhead i-banker.

45 Miles for $230 is also almost exactly the right fare for the distance.

The more you look into the details the more obvious it is how things went down.
 
J

JGS

Banned
SouthernDragon said:
I dunno, stabbing someone in the hand is pretty severe...
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It depends on how that went down. If I have a knife and some guy is driving me around and not letting me out, I would be tempted to use it if they are lunging at me. How does the banker get to the driver's hand if he's driving?

If the guy just stabbed him, it's a different story.

It's moot because I'm sensing the driver hasn't been charged with anything at all. They are just using that as a defense. I'm also assuming that the cab driver was actually allowed to hold him hostage since that is a part of the prosecution's case.

It would not surprise me if the banker served minimum time because it was a minimum offense which is why the prosecution is piling on the charges (That hate crime charge is ridiculous).
 
L

LJ11

Member
Saw the banker's mugshot on TV, pretty good looking mugshot. Looked like a banker actually, they didn't mention his occupation on the evening news.
 
S

Slavik81

Member
Dead Man said:
I can see the guys point then. There is no way he is getting his money if he lets the guy out. Guy will run inside and claim he never left.
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It would probably not be very hard to prove he took the cab. Going out to a bar and taking a cab home would have a number of opportunities to leave a paper trail. His phone records and credit card records, for example.
 
D

Dead Man

Member
elrechazao said:
Why is his profession relevant to him being a dick?
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Because he is not poor. He is the 1%.

Slavik81 said:
It would probably not be very hard to prove he took the cab. Going out to a bar and taking a cab home would have a number of opportunities to leave a paper trail. His phone records and credit card records, for example.
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See, if it was two people of equal standing I would agree, but if I was an immigrant cabbie who just got stiffed by a rich arsehole, I would have zero expectation of victory. Not to say it wouldn't happen, but the expectation would be low.
 
M

mrbagdt

Member
JGS said:
His crime was worse.

The investment banker will probably get the most time for the hate one.
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im kind of shocked that you would look at these two guys and side with the banker.

on side A, you have a cabbie that has just driven a person from downtown manhattan to connecticut, 44 miles.

on side B, you have a person who is apparently drunk and is arguing about a fare while wielding a knife.

you would look at those two and you'd say 'you know what... this drunk with a knife... i think he is probably in the right here... the cabbie should have just let him out and sorted it out later'
 
F

Fjord

Member
Kind of on the banker's side here. The 'abduction' is the real escalation and in no way acceptable. The constant references to his occupation and wealth kind of rub me the wrong way, they shouldn't matter.
 
J

JGS

Banned
mrbagdt said:
im kind of shocked that you would look at these two guys and side with the banker.

on side A, you have a cabbie that has just driven a person from downtown manhattan to connecticut, 44 miles.

on side B, you have a person who is apparently drunk and is arguing about a fare while wielding a knife.

you would look at those two and you'd say 'you know what... this drunk with a knife... i think he is probably in the right here... the cabbie should have just let him out and sorted it out later'
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I'm not siding with the banker. Abduction is worse than stiffing a cab driver. EDIT: As I said before, the cab driver may have been allowed to abduct him since he isn't charged for that.

It's nothing personal. I concede the banker is a jerk that should have had the cops called on him at his residence.

The knife thing I get though. If I carry weapons, which I don't, it should be assumed I would use them for occasions such as this or there's no point. I stated later that if the banker just stabbed the guy to watch him bleed, then prison time is appropriate.

Finally, yes, I do think the hate crime charge is stupid.
 
Dude Abides

Dude Abides

Banned
I can't get over the irony of a douchebag malefactor of great wealth named William Bryan Jennings. I guess the money question was the paramount issue of the hour.

Holy shit they kinda look similar:

pwilliam-jennings-bryan.jpg


030212bankster.jpg
 
D

Dead Man

Member
JGS said:
I'm not siding with the banker. Abduction is worse than stiffing a cab driver. EDIT: As I said before, the cab driver may have been allowed to abduct him since he isn't charged for that.

It's nothing personal. I concede the banker is a jerk that should have had the cops called on him at his residence.

The knife thing I get though. If I carry weapons, which I don't, it should be assumed I would use them for occasions such as this or there's no point. I stated later that if the banker just stabbed the guy to watch him bleed, then prison time is appropriate.

Finally, yes, I do think the hate crime charge is stupid.
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I think an incorrect citizens arrest is less serious than theft. So there.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citizen's_arrest#United_States

Each state, with the exception of North Carolina, permits citizen arrests if the commission of a felony is witnessed by the arresting citizen, or when a citizen is asked to assist in the apprehension of a suspect by police. The application of state laws varies widely with respect to misdemeanors, breaches of the peace, and felonies not witnessed by the arresting party. For example, Arizona law allows a citizen's arrest if the arrestor has personally witnessed the offense occurring.[35]

American citizens do not carry the authority or enjoy the legal protections held by police officers, and are held to the principle of strict liability before the courts of civil- and criminal law including, but not limited to, any infringement of another's rights.[36] Nonetheless many citizens' arrests are popular news stories.[37]

Though North Carolina General Statutes have no provision for citizens' arrests, detention by private persons is permitted and applies to both private citizens and police officers outside their jurisdiction.[38] Detention is permitted where probable cause exists that one has committed a felony, breach of peace, physical injury to another person, or theft or destruction of property.[39] Detention is different from an arrest in that in a detention the detainee may not be transported without consent.
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I

Ignis Fatuus

Banned
I don't particularly like the concept of hate crime laws, but I sure do like that they have something big to charge this fucker with.
 
C

Chumly

Member
You guy's have to realize this guy is a multi millionaire with big name lawyers. Of course they are going to cook up a BS story trying to make the rich dude look good.
 
V

Valhelm

contribute something
William Bryan Jennings? Wow. I suppose his parents thought they were being clever with his name?
 
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