Baby you can drive my TAXI

At the hearing Breall claimed that he took his cab out twice a week and drove it around to do errands, although he generally didn't actually pick up any fares. "Every once in a while I'd pick somebody up," he said, adding that he didn't write down the information on his waybills, and didn't usually "charge them any money."

"I'm not sure Prop. K ever worked that well," Breall says, adding that he's done nothing wrong. "It was written in the 1970s and it doesn't deal with the realities of the new millennium."

Or perhaps it's been gutted over the decades by people seeking to make an easy buck. Last month Machen's deputy, Jordanna Thigpen, requested budget money for two more investigators to "audit, investigate, and prosecute" Proposition K scams, as well as funds to cover expenses generated by the "extremely large volume of litigation" the Commission expects to engage in this year.

It's approximately 8:30 on Sunday night and the cabbie, who doesn't have a medallion, zooms toward the airport, a drowsy Manhattan bond trader in the back seat. The bond guy journeyed to California to hunt wild boar with buddies in Sonoma for the weekend, and is now headed back to New York and the Wall Street hustle.

As he drives, the cabbie breaks down the economics of the taxi business. He'd paid a $78 "gate" fee to rent the cab and medallion, and so far — about three hours into the shift — he's yet to break even. "That 20 minutes without a fare sucks," he says. "That'll put a hole in your night. You need to be busy every minute, constantly busy."

Of course, things will be different if he ever gets a medallion. Then he'll able to lounge around, get creative with the paperwork, and stash away a couple thousand per month — all for doing absolutely nothing.