American tax officials

Chapter 3 Stop Pretending

The three of them passed through the casino lobby, entered the internal passage, and arrived at a black iron gate.

The lobby manager lifted a cover on the iron door handle, entered the password inside, and the door clicked open the next second.

But what followed left Nissen and David speechless.

Among them, what came into view was a large amount of US dollars, which were neatly stacked on various places on the tables and shelves.

Although David and Nissen did not know the exact amount, it was estimated to be in the tens of millions.

Casinos truly live up to their reputation as money pits!

"Anthony, come here for a second!"

Upon hearing the lobby manager's call, a slightly short man stopped his inventory work and turned to look at the entrance.

A hint of caution flashed in his eyes the moment he saw Nissen and David.

Judging from their posture and demeanor, he had already determined that they were definitely people belonging to law enforcement agencies.

Could it be... the FBI?

[Name: Anthony Taylor]

Occupation: Vault worker at Encar Casino.

Monthly income: $1.

[Monthly gray income: $30.]

[Details of gray income: On December 26th, together with Paul Wolf, Holt Douglas, and Warren Doyle, they robbed an armored truck belonging to Encar, stealing a total of $1 million, and receiving $300,000 in the robbery.]

[For more details...]

Taxes payable: US$188000.

"So it was an inside man..."

David was slightly surprised when he saw the information appearing above Anthony's head, but he quickly understood.

The route of the armored trucks at Encar Casino is not fixed each day, nor is there a fixed departure time.

Unless there was an inside leak and collusion from within, how could those robbers have succeeded so easily?

But it must be said that Anthony is really capable, managing to clear his name in front of both the casino and the police.

"Manager David, who are these two...?"

Lost in thought, Anthony had already walked over, pretending to be calm as he sized up Nissen and David.

"My name is Nison, an inspector with the IRS Lake District branch. This is my partner, David!"

"IRS!?"

Anthony was initially surprised, then relaxed, and finally became puzzled again.

He had just thought that the FBI had sent people to investigate him again because he hadn't been cleared of suspicion yet.

But to my surprise, it turned out to be the National Taxation Bureau.

This left him feeling somewhat bewildered.

"Mr. Anthony, may I have a word with you in private?"

"certainly!"

The three of them arrived at a lounge one after another.

Anthony spoke first, asking, "Gentlemen inspectors, how can I help you?"

"Here's the thing, we'd like to speak with Mr. Anthony to inquire about the armored truck robbery that happened seven days ago!"

"The case of the armored truck hijacking!"

Anthony paused for a moment, then replied, "I've already given the police most of the details. Oh, and by the way, if I may be so bold, shouldn't this kind of thing fall under the jurisdiction of the IRS?"

"The robbery itself is none of our business, but the amount of money involved is!"

This time it was David who spoke up.

Now that we know this guy is the mole.

He was determined to get that nearly 40 in taxes!

"Huh? What do you mean?"

Anthony looked at David, still completely bewildered.

"Perhaps Mr. Anthony isn't keeping up with the news, but a month ago, our Congress passed a 'Black Tax Act.' This act stipulates that from now on, whether it's drug trafficking, smuggling, prostitution, or even robbery, everyone must pay the full amount of taxes to our IRS..."

After hearing David's explanation, Anthony was dumbfounded.

He didn't pay much attention to current affairs and wasn't very clear that Congress had passed such a bill.

However, if you're talking about legitimate businesses, it's perfectly normal to have to pay taxes to the IRS.

Drug trafficking, smuggling, prostitution, and robbery are all subject to taxes by the IRS.

This is a bit too outrageous!

"Did you hear me, Mr. Anthony?"

Anthony composed himself and feigned innocence, replying, "Understood, but gentlemen inspectors, if you want to collect this tax, shouldn't you be looking for robbers?!"

"Mr. Anthony, I never said we wouldn't contact the robbers, why are you so nervous?"

Nissen narrowed his eyes and looked at Anthony with a meaningful gaze.

"Okay, so what do you want to ask?"

"Sofia Nera, Jill Nera, you should know them, right?"

Upon hearing those two names, a barely perceptible change flashed in Anthony's eyes, but he quickly regained his composure and replied, "Sophia is my ex-wife, and Jill is my wife's brother. What's wrong?"

Nissen pulled a document from inside his suit jacket and said, "We checked. These two sisters lost a lot of money in the futures market a month ago, did you know that?"

"Yeah!"

Anthony seemed somewhat surprised, then calmly replied, "Mr. Inspector, you know she's my ex-wife. We don't get along. I really didn't know about this!"

"We also found out that 20 yuan of the debt owed by your ex-wife and brother-in-law came from loan sharks, meaning they desperately need the money!"

Although Nissen did not name names directly, his meaning was quite clear.

That's you, Anthony! You definitely had a motive to commit the crime!

"Inspector, what do you mean? Are you suspecting me of involvement in this robbery?"

"You need to understand that the police have already proven my innocence. Even though your IRS has a lot of power, you can't just arbitrarily slander a law-abiding citizen!"

Anthony became agitated and began to defend himself.

"Mr. Anthony, believe me, the IRS isn't like those useless cops. We have our own authority, systems, and methods; we can find far more than you imagine!"

"Either you tell the truth, or I guarantee you won't spend a single penny of that million!"

When it came to his own promotion, Nissen became really determined.

"What do you mean by 'confess honestly'? I don't understand or know anything about it. All I know is that I'm innocent!"

"Are you sure you're innocent?

The two, still arguing fiercely, both turned their attention to David.

"If you're unwilling to talk about it, then I think I can go and talk to Paul Wolfe, Holt Douglas, Warren Doyle, and the others. What do you think?"

Upon hearing this, Anthony's expression changed drastically.

Meanwhile, Nissen, who was standing to the side, did not know who these people were, but he clearly noticed Anthony's change and then looked at David with suspicion.

"What Paul Wolfe, Holt? I don't know any of them!"

"Mr. Anthony, Paul Wolfe is a regular at your casino. You even introduced him to loan sharks. How could you not know him?"

David smiled faintly and continued, "As for Holt, a drug addict in the old city slums, and Warren, a gangster in the tenth block..."

This information was not something he made up out of thin air; it was clearly recorded on the panel of the cheat device.

(End of this chapter)