A Beck Taxi driver whose convictions for assault and other crimes went undetected for years has been fired.

Bernard Koranteng was the focus of a Star investigation that revealed Toronto’s taxi licensing system only checks drivers’ records every four years. He told the Star Thursday that he’s a “safe” driver who has paid his debt to society.

The City of Toronto has pledged to cut the four years in half and potentially check criminal histories and driving records once a year, said city licensing chief Bruce Robertson.

Koranteng insisted his criminal convictions shouldn’t have resulted in him losing his job.

“If I go to court and I lose and they ask me not to drive, I won’t drive,” Koranteng said Thursday in a phone interview. “But nobody asked me not to drive.”

Until Wednesday.

Koranteng, 57, had been driving a Beck taxi owned by Bozlul Kabir, who fired him Wednesday. Beck Taxi is a brokerage and doesn’t hire drivers directly. Cab drivers are independent operators who acquire a taxi licence then work for plate and car owners, like Kabir, who connect them with a particular brokerage.

Kabir told the Star that when he discovered Koranteng had a criminal record from the Star story, he immediately stopped him from using his vehicle.

“How could I know?” said Kabir, who operates a 30-car taxi garage near Keele St. and Eglinton Ave. connecting drivers with Beck and Co-op.

“Whoever has got a valid licence, I give them the car. I have no idea who’s got a criminal record. That’s not my job.”

Drivers are supposed to report criminal or highway traffic convictions to the city. Koranteng did not report his 2007 conviction for assaulting a female passenger, his 2005 conviction for dangerous driving and a 2002 conviction for threatening death.

If a driver’s record breaches what the city has defined as acceptable behaviours, it will contact the driver and inform him it intends to deny a new licence, revoke an existing licence or deny a renewal.

Drivers can appeal the decision before a civilian tribunal tasked with evaluating if a driver’s record indicates he poses a danger to the public.

In Koranteng’s case, the city learned about his record through a public complaint and instructed him to attend a hearing before the tribunal. In 2008, lawyers for the city and Koranteng settled the case with a plea agreement approved by the tribunal. Koranteng was put on three years of probation and given a 10-day suspension.

The Star used city and tribunal documents to show that of almost 340 drivers who appealed the city’s decision to refuse or grant a new licence in the past five years, only 53 were denied.

Most of the drivers stayed on the road after arranging plea deals between their lawyer and a city lawyer; deals that were approved by tribunal members.

Koranteng told the Star he has ferried thousands of women without incident in his 18 years as a taxi driver. He wouldn’t explain the assault on passenger Lori Slaunwhite and said he told his side of the story in court. “You don’t even know what happened,” he said.

Koranteng’s licence to drive a taxi expires on Aug. 14, 2013. City licensing chief Robertson said Koranteng will continue to hold his licence unless new information that violates the city’s standards is brought to their attention.

The president of an association that fights to improve working conditions for taxi drivers and protect drivers’ rights agrees with owner Kabir’s decision.

“He has been convicted of criminal charges, he should not be driving,” said Sajid Mughal, president of the iTaxiworkers Association, which counts as many as 800 Toronto taxi drivers among its membership, he said.

Mughal stressed that the vast majority of the approximately 10,400 drivers in the city are hard-working, reliable and safe. But he said “drivers who have been convicted of assault and sexual assault charges should not be behind the wheel serving the public.”

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Though car owner Kabir let Koranteng go, there is no rule that prevents Koranteng from working for another car owner. Beck head office staff were not immediately available for comment on Koranteng's dismissal.

For its investigation, the Star obtained five years of data on drivers and found that some drivers with convictions for sexual assault, assault, drunk driving and threatening death continued to hold a taxi licence.