DA: Dozens Of Guilty Pleas So Far In NYC Taxi Scam

NEW YORK (AP) -- Prosecutors say 26 New York City taxi drivers have pleaded guilty to felony charges after a broad probe last year into a fare-boosting scam.

The Manhattan district attorney's office compiled the numbers after the latest guilty plea from a driver Monday. More than a dozen other cases remain open.

Forty-five cabbies were charged with felonies in September. Authorities said the drivers repeatedly bumped their meters up to a higher suburban fare rate when they actually were in the city.

Prosecutors said the drivers together stole more than $235,000 during about 77,000 taxi trips.

Fourteen others were charged with misdemeanors. The status of those cases isn't immediately available.

Drivers said some seeming overcharges were honest mistakes.

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