That kind of crap has been going on around bases and posts for a long time. It was common in the late 60s early 70s as well. I knew of one commander who successfully had the cabbies licenses permanently removed.
I heard his real name is Mohhamed bin Gonzales-Ruiz X.
“Lavery threatened to have the five arrested and called the military police...Knowing that criminal charges could hurt their military careers, the soldiers paid the $450.”
And just like in my day, average GIs have so little trust and faith in their own Military Police and in the Judge Advocate General that they paid their money and got the hell outa there.
Terrible....
How times have changed. When, back in the late 60’s, I was stationed at Ft Myer, Va, just outside Washington, I once tried to tip a cab driver a dollar on a $4 ride. He refused the tip and gave me half the fare back because I was in the military.
must have learned that trick from the ‘rads.
they’ve been doing GIs like that since ‘45.
There’s good and bad out there. Once when I was very late getting out of bed in San Diego — and found that I had less than half the money I needed to get back to the ship, I asked a taxi driver to take me as far as my money would take me in the hopes that I could catch a ride closer to the base.
The money ran out half way across the Coronado bay bridge, he just turned off the meter and kept driving. Fast too! Made it to the after-brow of the Connie just in time. Closest I ever came to missing ship’s movement.
Really nice guy!