Show Who Gets the Tips Henry Lustig dapper owner of the New York City swanky Longchamps restaurant chain is being tri tried d in federal court with two associates for allegedly engineering a in income income income in- in come tax evasion scheme heme E The trio is charged with concealing income and m manipulating the books of the restaurant chain for the purpose of avoiding payment of proper income taxes One of the governments government's charges in the case is particularly interesting It is that Lustig and his associates received but did not report as income from to a month from tips collected by in the restaurants nta Apparently the owners and managers of these restaurants got the tips left by or patrons or at least leasta a large portion of the tips That is undoubtedly a surprising revelation to the patrons who left tips for waiters and waitresses as a gesture or g d willand willand will and an expression of appreciation for good s service r ice They certainly didn't intend to pay a gratuity to the owners of the of-the the establishments establishments who no doubt were far better fixed financially than 99 out of of the patrons If the federal charge is true tipp tipping ng in these New York restaurants was a pure and simple racket by which customers were mulcted to fatten the purses of already well to Wo We dont don't know whether the Longchamps tipping tipping- racket was unique in those establishments but we rath rather r suspect a similar scheme operates in many other restaurants And if that is the way the tipping racket works out its it's high time the American people r realized ali d the way they are arc being played playe fo for suckers and suckers and called a halt tJ a J |