Legitimate Businessmen's Social Club: Difference between revisions

 

{{examples}}

* ''[[Baccano!]]'': The Martillo Family run a speakeasy in Prohibition-era New York City, with a shop selling honey as a front.

* ''[[Black Lagoon]]'': the Church of Violence is a [[Exactly What It Says on the Tin|christian church that sells weapons]].

 

* ''[[Sin City]]'' mobsters usually tend to hide in plain sight. They pretend to be country clubs, legit casinos, and even the church but they are usually fronts for criminal organizations. Most people know this, though. [[Crapsack World|They just choose to ignore it.]]

* Kingpin's organization from [[Marvel Comics]] used to pose as a normal spice business before being eventually exposed. In fact, while the first legit company he owned was a small spice importing firm, he would often claim to be a "humble dealer of spices" even years later when his holdings had become a vast conglomerate of various fields.

 

* Impro Fanfic ''Do Gooders'' had the "Tokyo Legitimate Businessmen's Club"—probably in tribute to ''[[The Simpsons (animation)|The Simpsons]]''. To their credit, neither the heroes nor the main villain realized their actual purpose until the shoot-out started. Then again, everyone else knows what they really do...

 

* In ''[[The Godfather]]'' films, Vito Corleone poses as an "Olive Oil Importer", and occasional references are made to "the Olive Oil business" when characters do not want to refer to what ''actually'' goes on. (Subverted in that he actually ''does'' have a legitimate business that imports olive oil; it just isn't where most of his money comes from.)

* ''[[Some Like It Hot]]'': The climax involves the Friends of Italian Opera.

 

* Lampshaded in ''[[The Serial Murders]]'' by Kim Newman: psychic investigator Richard Jeperson is introduced to some very obvious Legitimate Businessmen by the villain, who is auctioning his supernatural powers to be used for assassination. Upon being introduced to them, Jeperson guesses that they're 'olive oil salesmen', in reference to ''[[The Godfather]]'' example above. They appreciate the joke, but the villain—who is both rather uncultured and a bit of an idiot—is lost.

 

* ''[[Intelligence]]'': The protagonist has many front companies, including a shipyard and a lumber business, but his favorite is a strip club called the Chick-A-Dee.

* Although they're a motorcycle gang rather than the Italian mob, SAMCRO in ''[[Sons of Anarchy]]'' uses this trope in the exact same fashion. Everybody knows what they do for a living, but whenever they're accused of being a biker gang by law enforcement officers, they'll assert that they're just a club of Harley enthusiasts.

 

* Subverted in ''[[The Hairy Ape]]'': Yank goes to a meeting of the Industrial Workers of the World, expecting it to be a front for an organization that achieves its goals by blowing things up. The people there assume that he is a government spy trying to entrap their genuinely legitimate organization when he approaches them, and kick him out.

 

* ''[[Sam and Max]]'' has [[Suck E. Cheese's|Ted E. Bear's Mafia-free Playland and Casino.]] Complete with a [[Ear Worm|horribly]] [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xLVclnItahk catchy theme song].

{{quote|"N-O-M-A-F-I-A! Oh baby..."}}

* The ''[[Ryu ga Gotoku|Yakuza]]'' games have the Nikkyo Consortium, which is really the black ops arm of the Tojo Clan, advancing its interests through methods like assassination that need to be kept discreet even from the already violent rank and file.

 

* ''[[Problem Sleuth]]'': Mobster Kingpin's front for his speakeasy and other operations is the [[Exaggerated Trope|LEGITIMATE ESTABLISHMENT]].

* In ''[[Aki Alliance]]'' there are two rival gangs, the "Girl Gang" and... "The Legitimate Business Club".

 

** The [[Trope Namer]] is Fat Tony's hideout. They have a softball team and "family" picnics.

** The Ancient Society of No-Homers, which meets at an old Baskin-Robbins with a marquee reading "Abandoned Store".

* ''[[CatDog]]'': In the episode "Just Say CatDog Sent Ya", when Farburg Burger Bones were banned in Nearburg, Cat and Dog set up a speakeasy at their place.

 

* [[Al Capone]] was officially an antiques dealer. He even owned an antique shop. However, most people, including the police and the press, knew what he really was, but could not arrest him, and ended up arresting him for tax evasion.

* Dean O'Banion ran a floral shop in addition to his bootlegging operation. He was evidently a pretty good florist, and seemed to have as much of a passion for flowers as he did for crime. Admittedly, many of his customers were mobsters, but it wasn't a money-laundering business. He was just good with flowers, and they knew him.

* There is a post doing rounds in [[Tumblr]] about a guy belatedly realizing they were [http://toloveviceforitself.tumblr.com/post/164936008180/onewit-torulethem-all-prokopetz eating in a Mafia front], and people added on their own anecdotes on eating in similar Mafia fronts. One poster lived in a town with such an amount of these, they had become [[Genre Savvy]] about it.

 

{{reflist}}

[[Category:Nightlife Index]]

[[Category:Organized Crime Tropes]]