Limo Operator Sentenced After Second Conviction

A Granada Hills man was sentenced to 100 days of community service and placed on three years probation after he was convicted a second time of operating a limousine service without proper permits, and making false and misleading statements, authorities said.

Los Angeles Municipal Court Commissioner Barry Kohn on Tuesday also ordered Leonard Kamenetsky, 23,--who has used the aliases Leonard Kinske, Leonard Gerschcovich and Joseph Wasserman--to work on a graffiti-removal crew and serve five days of electronically monitored house arrest, according to the Los Angeles city attorney’s office.

Kamenetsky was accused by Linda Vaisa, a state Public Utilities Commission investigator who conducted the initial investigation of his limousine business in 1992 after her office received complaints about the company’s business practices.

That investigation led to a conviction and an order to Kamenetsky to cease business operations at Deja Vue Limousine and Deja Vue Livery Inc. in Van Nuys.

Kamenetsky made restitution to customers, paid $5,000 in PUC investigative costs and served 45 days on a Caltrans work crew, the city attorney’s office said. But then he apparently moved his business to Fountain Avenue in Hollywood under the name Entertainment Express Limousine Service, ignoring the order to cease operating, the announcement said.

Vaisa opened a second investigation after learning that Kamenetsky was doing business again, the announcement said.

Customers lodged complaints that ranged from overbilling to billing credit card numbers for services that were never performed, the announcement said.

In some instances, customers said they were charged for limousine rides that were booked but never honored, and in other cases the quoted prices were nearly doubled. In one example, a woman was charged twice the quoted price, and another charge was placed on her credit card, the announcement said.