Employees say parking lot owner owes them wages after closing business

BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. — A park-and-ride business in Brevard County is closed after WFTV exposed the owner joyriding and speeding in a customer's car.

WFTV first broke the story on Monday, which is now making national headlines.

WFTV's Jeff Deal talked to former employees, who say the owner of the Premier Parking Spot closed up shop without paying them.

Jay Nieves, owner of Premier Parking Spot, was caught on video cruising all over town in a 2012 shiny red Corvette convertible that WFTV had a husband and wife drop off at his lot earlier that day.

The couple pretended they were going on a cruise.

Two days later, Nieves drove it again. WFTV watched him haul lumber in it, and even allow a dog to run around on the car.

When WFTV confronted him, he denied everything.

"I'm not driving anybody's car," Nieves told Deal.

"That's a customer's car out there," Deal told Nieves, pointing out a 2012 Corvette WFTV rented.

"That is not a customer's car," said Nieves.

"We rented that car. That's our car," said Deal.

"That is not nobody's car. We're not driving anybody's car," said Nieves.

Little did he know WFTV had placed a GPS tracking device on the car and were following his every move.

He put a total of 61 miles on the car.

Since we confronted him, he's run into more problems.

On Tuesday, his lot was empty and employees said he informed them he was closing up shop. The landlord said he's evicting Nieves because Nieves has never shown proof that he has insurance.

Lewis de Lucia, a limo driver, said Nieves owes him $700 and won't pay.

"I asked Jay many times to please pay me, and he said tomorrow, tomorrow, tomorrow, Mr. Deal... never came," said de Lucia.

Other employees said he owes them more, including Joseph Wilhousky, a father of five.

"We will likely be in a homeless shelter shortly, unfortunately," he said.

The Brevard County Sheriff's Office said Monday no one from Premier picked up passengers returning from a cruise.

After they took a cab to the lot, they found their cars with keys in the doors and no employees in sight.

No one answered at Nieves' home on Tuesday.

The national company that was taking reservations from Premier Parking Spot said it has severed ties with Nieves and is now sending customers to a different car lot.

WFTV