A Plainville livery service has been forced to shut down after the state found the owner was operating without proper permits after an anonymous complaint tipped off the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV).
"The regulatory authority is there for a reason, fundamentally to ensure safety," spokesman Kevin Nursick for the state Department of Transportation told NBC Connecticut.
Online state records from the Secretary of the State’s office show Kaz Tours and Travel opened for business in 2013.
A video from their website online advertises, "Do you need a reliable and safe ride to and from the airport? Look no further than Kaz Tours and Travel."
Their website offering limos for weddings cruises and airport shuttles to NYC, Boston and Bradley International, as well as, tours of the Big Apple and beyond. A white 14-passenger van and Lincoln town car, at owner Kaz Debinski’s home in Plainville provided some of those services, according to Department of Motor Vehicle records.
"They did not have any authority to operate livery interstate or intrastate period. So, operating illegally for some amount of time. You want to make sure these vehicles and drivers are regulated and public is safe," according to state officials.
The DOT regulates livery permits, the DMV enforces.
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Last week the DMV and Plainville police paid a visit to Debinski's home, citing him for illegally operating a livery service without a permit.
According to the summons report, state officials wrote “Initially, Mr. Debinski stated he was not in business. I advised him that I had visited his website and have knowledge he transported several people to and from New York. It was at this time that his story changed and he decided to tell me the truth."
At home, Debinski told NBC Connecticut he had insurance and was fixing the issue, adding, "I only pick up in Connecticut and go out of state and pick up out of state and bring people back to Connecticut."
Getting a proper livery permit entails paperwork and nearly two hundred dollars.
"Background check on the drivers, making sure the vehicles are appropriate and inspected appropriately depending on vehicle, making sure they have insurance, so if something does go wrong they are going to be covered," DOT Spokesman Kevin Nursick added.
“We are happy to tell public if licensed or not, so if public contacts us about a livery service or a taxi service, we will let them know whether or not they are appropriately licensed to operate the best way to contact us is through our website, we have a contact us form, send us an email we’ll get back to you as quickly as we can and we’re pretty fast on this, so send us an email and we’ll let you know.”
As far as granting a livery permit to Debinski, DOT officials will take his case into consideration.
