Six doormen are facing charges in connection with an alleged extortion conspiracy that demanded taxi drivers pay for the chance to collect fares at their luxury Montreal hotel.
Montreal police say the six men have been pressuring cabbies to pay up before picking up passengers at the storied Queen Elizabeth hotel.
The doormen are accused of demanding between $5 and $30, depending on the length of the journey.
Unco-operative drivers, who have been complaining of the practice for years, accuse the doormen of directing potential fares to taxis willing to fork over the cash.
The cash was allegedly handed over either during handshakes or it was placed in the trunk so that the doorman could pick it up when picking up luggage.
In a French-language statement released Friday, the head of the Montreal police taxi and towing division said he was pleased some drivers chose to speak out.
"It is thanks to the courage of the drivers who have denounced these practices that the situation will return to normal at this hotel," Jugand said, inviting anyone who has had a similar experience to also report it.
After talking to several cab drivers in the city, CTV News Montreal reporter Derrick Conlon said the alleged scam is not unique to the Queen Elizabeth hotel.
"Every cab driver I spoke with today says the same situation exists at every large hotel in Montreal," Conlon said, although no formal investigations have been launched yet.
"Police say, so far, no one has made a formal complaint about similar schemes operating elsewhere in the city."
One cab driver told CTV News the scam was an "age-old" tradition in Montreal.
Another driver said he paid out $25,000 over six years.
Police, who arrested the six Queen Elizabeth hotel doormen on Nov. 16, are recommending they be charged with extortion, intimidation and conspiracy.
The famous 52-year-old downtown hotel is the largest in Quebec, with more than 1,000 guest rooms.
It rose to worldwide prominence in the summer of 1969, when John Lennon and his wife Yoko Ono conducted their famous bed-in at the hotel. Lennon also recorded his hit "Give Peace a Chance" there.
Other famous guests include Charles de Gaulle, Princess Grace of Monaco, Indira Gandhi, Jacques Chirac, Nelson Mandela, the Dalai Lama, Mikhail Gorbachev, Jimmy Carter and Henry Kissinger. Queen Elizabeth II has stayed there too, on at least four occasions.
