CITY ALLEGES PARKING LOT OWNER DODGED TAX DUTY.

Byline: RICK ORLOV Staff Writer

Declaring war on businesses that fail to pay taxes, City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo and Controller Laura Chick announced Monday the filing of a 310-count complaint against the owner of 31 parking lots who allegedly refused to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars in taxes owed to the city.

The complaint, filed as the result of a whistle-blower's call and other investigations, is against Prestige Parking Inc. of Los Angeles and its owner, Schrab ``Sam'' Sahab, and alleges he failed to pay his share of the city's 10 percent parking tax. The company owns and operates lots throughout the city.

``No one likes to pay taxes, but it's needed if we are to keep police on the streets, provide parks and libraries and keep the city operating,'' Delgadillo said at a City Hall news conference. ``They scammed money, which could have been used for public safety.''

The city couldn't say exactly how much it is owed by Prestige's alleged failure to pay the tax, Delgadillo said.

``All we can do is estimate it is in the several hundreds of thousands of dollars,'' he said.

The criminal charges carry a potential penalty of $319,000 beyond any restitution payments and up to 155 years in county jail.

Sahab did not return calls seeking comment.

Chick said the charges were the first product of her special fraud unit and were designed to send a message.

``We are saying to scofflaws that you will not get away without paying your taxes,'' Chick said. ``This is no small amount we're talking about. Last year, the city brought in $75 million from the parking tax, and this year we expect to bring in $82 million. This is serious business.''

Delgadillo said a separate civil action is being filed against Prestige to recover the lost revenue to the city.

``We think they believed because it is mostly a cash business that they could hide what the city is due,'' he said.

[e-mail]

[phone]