Dudum family members charged in San Francisco taxi cab scam

Two members of the extended Dudum family, which include Walnut Creek-centered restaurateurs and real estate moguls, have been caught in what, IMO, is a rather pathetic scam.

This scam involves well-off suburbanites, such as the two accused Dudums, allegedly trying to pocket more money for themselves by claiming to be full-time cab drivers in San Francisco. They allegedly did this by obtaining much-prized permits to drive taxi cabs in that city—permits sought by not-so-well-off men and women, struggling to earn enough money to house and feed their families.

ABC7’s Dan Noyes, reporting on these fraud charges and the controversy over these permits, or “medallions” as they are called, cites the complaint and his own investigation to say that Jack and Sylvia Dudum both possessed these permits. This means that both claimed to drive cabs on the streets of San Francisco full time.

How likely is that?

Noyes, as well as a 12-count, 72-page fraud complaint just filed by the San Francisco's Municipal Transportation Agency, asserts that neither would have had time for hustling for cab fares for the past 10 years. That's because, the complaint contends, their primary business is in real estate and restaurants, such as the still-empty commercial property on Locust Street, pictured above. This is the site of the former Sherman Clay piano store, and Diablo magazine reported in May that was due to be transformed into a high-end small-plate restaurant called VeSu by this summer.

The couple together also own more than $15 million in property, from stores and a warehouse, to two condos on a Palm Desert golf course, according to Noyes and the complaints. This real estate includes about $6 million in property in downtown Walnut Creek. Then, there is their 5,500-square-foot, $3 million home off Alamo’s Livorna Road with a pool and a putting green.

Oh, and speaking of the above-mentioned VeSu, Tony Dudum of 1515 Restaurant Lounge and The Pizza Place was to be the consultant to VeSu's owners, Diablo magazine said. Incidentally, Tony Dudum was in the news earlier this week as one of the downtown bar and restaurant owners objecting to a proposed policy to stagger cutoff times for serving liquor.

Regarding the rest of the Dudum family and in trying to sort out the family tree, it appears that Jack Dudum is the uncle of Jeff Dudum, the impresario behind Dudum Sports & Entertainment and the force behind the crooner-themed Bing Crosby Restaurant and Piano Lounge; the sports-themed McCovey’s: and the Carlos Santana- , Pacific Coast-inspired Maria Maria chain. A biography of Jeff Dudum, for his appearance on KGO radio’s Dining Around with Gene Burns in January 2007 mentions Jack as the son of Dudum family patriarch, John Dudum, and the brother of Jeff Dudum’s father, Rocky.

Meanwhile, here's some background on this whole San Francisco taxi cab permit/medallion issue from Noyes:

"The city of San Francisco limits the number of cabs on the street by handing out just 1,500 permits or 'taxi medallions.' With almost 7,500 drivers, the medallions are precious -- there's a ten-year waiting list. In order to receive a medallion, you have to be a working, full-time driver. You can drive your own cab with it and lease it out to other drivers to work when you aren't driving. That leasing option is worth anywhere from $20,000 to $40,000 a year -- a good addition to a cab driver's salary. It's meant as something of a reward for working years in the industry.

Noyes’ I-team first pointed out two years ago in July 2007 "that there is widespread abuse of the system" and "several cases in which medallion holders were not driving a cab, as required by law ... Some drivers told me today there are 200 or more people who own medallions, but don't drive. Many people who were not driving a taxi saw the permits as a way to make a quick buck."

Those cases include Jack and Sylvia Dudum, who “have not driven a taxi in the past 10 years," Noyes reported back then. They have also “submitted false documents in an effort to deceive the SFPD, the Taxi Commission and now the MTA."

After fraud charges were filed this week, Jack and Sylvia Dudum each face fines of more than $200,000 each, and revocation of their medallions. They must appear for a disciplinary hearing on August 7.

Jack and Sylvia Dudum aren’t the only affluent East Bay suburbanites ensnared in this alleged scam. So is a woman named Lauretta Tacchini, who faces the same penalties. She had a San Francisco taxi medallion for 10 years and claimed to drive for the same cab company--Royal Cab--as the Dudums, according to Noyes and the complaint against her, which you can view on Noyes I-team blog.

In the complaint, Tacchini is listed as the owner of What’s In Store, an “upscale” purse and objects d'art shop in Danville’s Blackhawk Shopping Plaza. Noyes reports that her husband is a captain in the San Francisco Police Department and was head of the San Francisco Police taxi detail at the time his wife applied for her medallion in 1987. In this report this week, Noyes says that an internal affairs investigation in 2004 cleared him of helping his wife obtain a medallion.