Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
NYC pedicab driver pleads guilty to bribing city inspector for licensed plates, officials say
By
Giulia Heyward
Published Jul 17, 2024
Modified Jul 17, 2024
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
By
Giulia Heyward
Published Jul 17, 2024
Modified Jul 17, 2024
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
A New York City pedicab driver has pleaded guilty for attempting to bribe his way into getting the proper registration plates outside of the traditional lottery system, the city Department of Investigation said on Wednesday.
Officials said Brooklyn resident Shokhru Alimov, 41, admitted to a felony bribery charge as part of a plea deal that could lead to a five-year probationary sentence. He also surrendered his pedicab driver and business licenses and forfeited the $7,500 he intended to use to bribe a city inspector, according to DOI.
Alimov was arrested in June 2023 after he attempted to offer $7,500 in exchange for 15 pedicab registration plates, officials said. They added that he intended to offer an additional $7,500 to renew the plates and more money for other registration plates in the future.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said in a statement that Alimov's offers were "outside of the official process" for registering pedicabs, which entails a lottery for plates or buying plates from other licensees with the approval of the city's Department of Consumer and Worker Protection.
Bragg added, “His actions undermined the licensing process that exists to keep New Yorkers and tourists safe.”
The guilty plea comes more than a year after Alimov originally approached a city inspector in Central Park and offered to pay $60,000 for help obtaining 34 pedicab registration plates, according to DOI. The inspector reported the incident and met with Alimov a month later with an undercover investigator, officials said.
"As our city's tourism industry rebuilds, it's vital that visitors are protected, which is why we don't tolerate anyone who tries to skirt the law," Department of Consumer and Worker Protection Commissioner Vilda Vera Mayuga said in an emailed statement. "We couldn't be prouder of our enforcement and licensing teams for their work here and thank the Department of Investigation and the District Attorney's office for working with us to uphold the integrity of our licensing and inspections."
Alimov's attorney information was not immediately available.
In recent months, the city has begun cracking down on pedicab drivers, who are often found offering rides to tourists around popular local spots. There’s a finite amount of registration plates that get doled out each year to maintain the local cap of just 850 pedicabs in the city.
In December, the NYPD seized dozens of illegal pedicabs allegedly operated by drivers who did not have the proper registration to transport people on the tricked-out tricycles.
This story has been updated with comment from the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection.
Tagged
new york city
public safety
transportation
brooklyn
Giulia Heyward
Giulia Heyward is a breaking news reporter on the Day-Of desk. She previously worked at NPR, as a breaking news reporter, and the New York Times, as a reporting fellow on the national desk. Her work has also appeared in CNN, The Atlantic and Politico. Got a tip? Email [email protected] or more securely on signal at 917-715-1458.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
NYCHA says it's removed asbestos found at Brooklyn’s Marcy Houses
A steam leak left asbestos-laden residue on some of the exterior walls at the public housing complex in Bedford-Stuyvesant.
By
Giulia Heyward
Published Oct 30, 2026 at 4:29 p.m. ET
'It is a crime!': Upper West Side owl lovers outraged after rooftop work wrecks nest
The owls are protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.
By
Carol Chen
News
'It is a crime!': Upper West Side owl lovers outraged after rooftop work wrecks nest
The owls are protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.
By
Carol Chen
Police search several blocks in Canarsie after dead man’s body found
By
Charles Lane
NY unemployment recipients brace for delays during system upgrade
By
Jon Campbell
and
Carol Chen
Influential Brooklyn developer illegally raised rents despite tax break, lawsuit claims
By
David Brand
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .