The Atlantic City boardwalk has seen a lot of action, on screen and in reality. But never anything quite like the hot dog vendor jive turkey ender.
A man in cargo shorts (hereafter ever known as the Jive Turkey) can be seen harassing a hot dog vendor. JT can be seen trying to upend the cart, and spill the hotdogs on the ground; this is a sin. Failing in that, he aggressively approaches the vendor, who tries to retreat in the face of the bullying.
Things then escalate.
The vendor is unable to fully leave the scene, or his cart will surely be vandalized. JT the silly bully takes the hero hot dog vendor’s responsible actions as fear, and throws a wild haymaker.
That was a mistake.
Like many people who grow up in AC, the vendor has spent some time in a boxing gym. He slips the sloppy punch, and answers with a short one of his own, leaving the jive turkey in a sleeping heap.
Like the hero in any story, the hot dog vendor jive turkey ender then calmly walks away.
Like a boss.
The incident is not believe to be related to the 1980s Hot Dog Wars, as detailed by the New York Times.
Vendors contend that during the last three weeks they have been beaten and threatened with guns. Carts have been kicked in and tipped over – some of the larger carts with vendors inside, they say. Two weeks ago, an Atlantic County grand jury indicted five men in connection with the violence.
With the coming of the casinos, even hot dogs that normally sell for $1 each became big business. An estimated $3 million worth are expected to be sold from carts this year, primarily to some 10 million people stepping on and off buses at the casino doors.
At stake in the battle are the prime selling locations for the forthcoming tourist season. Vendors often take in more than $1,000 a day at those spots, which are held in a system of squatters’ rights that almost seems designed for combat.
Carts left unattended for even a few minutes are, by ordinance, subject to towing. And a vendor whose cart has been towed often returns to find that others have taken his place.
Mr. Roller noted that he and two employees had manned his cart 24 hours a day throughout the winter to save it, ”and now that the business season is coming they are trying to take it from me.”
Vendors say they are being offered between $50 and $200 to ”take a walk” and leave their carts unattended. Some have. Others describe men flipping bullets while talking to them about a possible change in companies that supply their food.
Capt. James Dooley, a police detective in Atlantic City, said that vendors had signed a variety of complaints and that three men accused of damaging carts had been arrested.
Lieut. Col. Justin J. Dintino, executive officer of the state police, said that the recent indictments were part of Operation Condor, an investigation by several state law enforcement agencies into organized-crime activities in Atlantic City. ”Organized crime is involved in the hot dog vending business here,” he said, but would not elaborate.
The five men who were indicted were charged with conspiring to damage the vending carts of the Hot Digity Dogs Corporation, one of two main companies that lease carts and supply food to the vendors. In addition to conspiracy, three of them were charged with actually damaging the carts.
One of those indicted was identified by Col. Clinton L. Pagano, superintendent of the state police, as an officer of Frankfurters Unlimited, the newly arrived competitor of Hot Digity Dogs, and a second as a spokesman for the new concern.
Peter Spalluto, president of Hot Digity Dogs, charges collusion between the city Police and Health Departments and Frankfurters Unlimited.
”When the police towed my cart for being unattended for a few minutes,” said Jeffrey Gross, who operates a Hot Digity Dog cart, ”a Frankfurters Unlimited cart took my place before my cart was even hauled away.” Other vendors make similar claims. Colonel Dintino said such allegations were under investigation.
Mr. Roller believes that his personally owned cart is being towed by the city because he buys his food and supplies from Hot Digity Dogs. ”They are ruining me,” he said. He complained of fines, of the loss of business while the city had his cart, of hundreds of dollars worth of modifications to his cart that the city had insisted upon, and of the police moving him down the street to a less lucrative location.
”Two big companies are battling,” he said, ”and the vendors, who are trying to make a living for their families by working 12-hour shifts on the carts, are the ones getting hurt.”
Mr. Roller, who purchased his cart for about $3,000, said that he had spent many sleepless nights in the last three weeks protecting the cart with a baseball bat, and many days in municipal court answering charges levied when his cart was towed.
”This courtroom is starting to smell like onions and mustard,” one vendor remarked on a typical day recently, when vendors made up the majority of those in municipal court.
William Cibotti, a partner in Frankfurters Unlimited, denied all accusations being made against his company. ”We are not connected to the mob, we are not involved in any violence and we are receiving rougher treatment from the city than Spalluto,” he said. ”We are gaining business by selling hot dogs cheaper than the competition.”
He said that the indicted man identified by Colonel Pagano as an officer of the concern was ”a small shareholder” and that the man identified as a spokesman was ”nothing but a vendor who buys hot dogs from us.”
Inspector Richard Stewart of the Atlantic City Police Department denies charges of collusion and selective enforcement, saying that Mr. Spalluto’s concern is receiving a proportionate share of tows and summonses.
James Lee Budd, Director of the Health Department, said that charges of collusion were ”ridiculous” and that his department was finally taking action against the carts after trying to gain compliance with health guidelines set down last May.
The City Council plans to pass an ordinance designed to ease problems by requiring such measures as rotating prime locations among vendors.
