Since watching the show, I’ve become convinced that many regular businesses are actually money laundering operations. Specifically, I believe that the Chinese nail shops popular in our area are laundering money for the Chinese mob. I went to one place for several years; every now and then some sketchy looking dude would show up and a week later there would be two new chairs, a new floor, or some other upgrade. The people that work on Long Island are all trucking in from Manhattan - over an hour drive each way; always grouped up in a van. Don’t people need their nails done closer to the city than that? I suspect that the nominal owners of these joints don’t have much say in where the business is put, and that the workers are basically indentured servants paying off debts for their transportation to America or for a family member - or that they are so immersed in their immigrant community that they do not realize there are other options for them, easily accessible by public transportation.
