Colbert: Only 2 possible punishments for Cohen's taxi-cab partner

May 25, 2018, 3:05 AM

Stephen Colbert on Thursday night ditched his regular "Stormy Watch" segment to introduce to "Late Show" viewers a new and "much-less-sexy segment" called "Cohen Corner," which included new graphics and a sad trombone.

Cohen and a Russian immigrant named Evgeny A. Freidman were partners in a taxi business, Colbert began, citing a story by The New York Times that reported how Freidman has been accused of failing to pay more than $5 million in taxes.

Freidman, aka The Taxi King, also has been accused of pocketing 50 cents from every cab ride that was supposed to be earmarked for improving public transit, Colbert said.

"Wait a second!" Colbert said. "He took money meant to improve the subway? There's only two possible punishments for that. Either he has to go to jail for life ... or he has to ride the subway."

Freidman has been charged with four counts of criminal tax fraud and one count of grand larceny, each of which carries a maximum sentence of 25 years.

"That's 125 years in jail," Colbert said. "By the time he gets out ... the G train might finally have arrived."