Shadow Empire

Chapter 459: Progress of the lawsuit and the characteristics of the bar
The commissioner is talking to their public relations team about some issues regarding the court case, and it is clear that the Golden Harbor City Court is on the side of the locals.

Although there is no evidence to prove that there is a direct connection between Garden Trading Company and the Lans family, the lawyer who appeared in court for Garden Trading Company this time is a friend of Lawyer Robben.

Lawyer Robben has been serving Lance for more than a year, and there is an inevitable connection between them.

The verdict on Jingangcheng's side made the Commissioner and his legal team believe that they were influenced by out-of-court factors, so it was impossible for them to win the case locally. They could only place their hopes on the Court of Appeal.

"We have already secured the relationship with the four adjudicators, and the Court of Appeal will certainly accept the appeal, but that doesn't mean we will get what we want."

"Whether we win the case or not, it will be very difficult."

"I asked someone..." the team's legal advisor paused for a moment, "Robben's wife's father graduated from Golden State University Law School, and he is an alumnus of many people in the Ministry of Justice."

"He himself has served as a High Court judge until now!"

"But there is good news. Robben and his wife have divorced. The reason is not clear."

The commissioner listened to these people's reports very carefully. He came here to solve the problem, not to live here permanently.

After a brief thought, he said, "The Court of Appeal cannot solve our problem in the short term. We need to prepare some follow-up disposal plans. In addition, we need additional ways to exert pressure so that Lance and the Lance family will take the initiative to negotiate with us."

He didn't know that the board of directors had already decided to take action against Lance. Because the news was too private, no one else knew about it except the board members.

As for who to send to do the job and when to do it, only the chairman of the board, the president and the executor know.

While they were discussing the remaining countermeasures, the phone suddenly rang. It was the hotel front desk calling and saying that two policemen wanted to see them.

The commissioner did not refuse and asked the front desk clerk to bring the police up.

He asked someone to tidy up the things on the table, and then went to the reception room with a legal advisor.

They booked a suite, which had an office, a study, two reception rooms and a living room.

A few minutes later, two police officers came in from outside. The commissioner stood up on his own initiative, but did not go forward to greet them. Instead, he stood beside the sofa.

"Hello, I am the police officer in charge of dock cases at the Port Branch, and this is my partner."

The commissioner was a little confused by the sudden visit of the two police officers, but he did not show that he did not understand. Instead, he stretched out his hand, shook hands with them, and invited them to sit down.

"I remember I didn't..." He turned his wrist, indicating that he didn't let them come over.

The first police officer who spoke smiled and said, "I have contacted the general manager of the Liji Group's Jingang branch. He said that you are now in charge of this case."

"We reported the case to the branch office. They suspected that the wheat sprouting was man-made and an act of commercial sabotage."

"We have accepted the case and have been conducting detailed investigation and detection work."

The commissioner remembered this incident and the general manager mentioned it to him when he was discussing the case with him. They had already called the police.

However, he also learned through other channels that in Jingang City, the gang forces were almost above the police system, and it was impossible to expect these police officers to investigate the gang crimes.

Of course, those small gangs are not included in this list. What is being referred to here are the five major families, including the Lance family.

So from the very beginning he didn't think calling the police was a meaningful action. Of course it was necessary because that was the judicial process, but he didn't have any expectations for the results of calling the police.

He crossed his legs and nodded slightly, "So, have you made any progress now?"

He laughed twice as he spoke, "If you need some funds for the investigation, we may not be able to provide it."

Because of issues such as allocation of police resources, during this period and for a long time thereafter, there were cases where people reporting crimes paid money to the police to solve the cases.

To put it nicely, it is to sponsor the police with some funds to solve cases. To put it bluntly, the police are unwilling to take action unless they receive money.

This is not only the case in Jingang City, but also in the entire federation. It is a symbol of an era.

You can't say that this is entirely a police problem. For example, some cases require a large number of police officers to do basic work. You can't ask the entire police station or the entire city to do nothing and focus on a certain case. This is unreasonable and impossible.

If the reporter is rich, they can spend money to get support, and the police will recruit some temporary police officers to be responsible for solving the case.

Or mobilize some police officers from surrounding areas where there are no major police incidents, including state police, forest police, road police, etc., to cooperate in the investigation.

It costs money to mobilize these police officers, so the money is used here.

But police in some places use this method as a means of "demanding money."

If you don't give them money, they will send two police officers to handle the case according to the regulations in the work manual.

There seems to be no problem in terms of procedure, but if it is a big case or a more complicated case, the investigation may take them several years.

It is an unspoken social rule that the person reporting the crime pays money to speed up the investigation process.

The commissioner thought they were here to ask for money, so he was not very polite in his words.

After all, the police's assistance was not a plus for them in this case, because it was impossible for the police to stand on their side from the beginning!
Hearing the commissioner's impolite words, the expressions of the two policemen changed slightly, but they did not forget the reason why they came here today.

One of the officers said, "You misunderstood. We are here to tell you that we have found some clues and have basically identified some possible suspects."

The commissioner's eyes gradually widened, and the legal advisor beside him also looked incredulous. When did the police in Jingang City become so capable?
Besides, don’t they care about the influence the Lance family has on them?

They don't understand at all!

Looking at the two people's stunned expressions, the policeman smiled and continued, "Later, some conflicts occurred on the dock. Through our understanding, questioning, and investigation of these people, we found some clues."

"The staff of the Liji Group may have had some problems with several workers on the dock. The workers generally believe that your employees are too arrogant and they will use vicious and harsh language to stimulate the workers on the dock."

"So some workers may have developed a revenge mentality because of these reasons."

"We have arrested two of them, and they confessed that they did it just to vent their frustration."

"The other suspects have fled. We have applied for a warrant and I believe they will be brought to justice soon."

"I'm here to inform you because your company has reported the case to the police, and now there has been some progress in the case, that's all."

"After the others are brought to justice and interrogated, we will give you an accurate result."

"You can decide whether to assert your legal rights based on the information and confessions we provide."

"Of course, I'll say this in private. These people are extremely poor. They probably can't even come up with a hundred dollars!"

The police officer smiled and said, "That's all we have to say. If there are no other questions, we will leave."

The commissioner glanced at the legal advisor, who quickly asked, "Can we contact those... suspects?"

The police nodded and said, "Of course you can, within the scope of the law."

"But we will send someone to keep an eye on you and record the video."

"If there are no further questions, we will leave. The police department still has a lot of work to do."

The news came too suddenly. The legal adviser shook his head. The commissioner was even less likely to have any problems. They took the initiative to send two police officers to the door this time. The legal adviser even sent them to the elevator! After returning to the room, the expressions of the legal team members were not very good, which made the commissioner realize that the problem might not be good.

It was interesting, the criminal was found, but the problem became troublesome.

So sometimes, being caught doesn’t necessarily mean that a criminal will become better; instead, he may become worse!

The legal advisor who had just returned from outside sat down and lit a cigarette. "They didn't catch them earlier or later. Now that they have suddenly caught these criminals, it's not a good thing for us. And it looks like they plan to send them directly to court through the prosecutor."

The commissioner frowned. He already had some guesses in his mind, but he didn't graduate from law school, so he didn't quite understand. He needed an explanation. "What kind of problem will this cause?"

The legal adviser said, "We have been pushing for the entire case to be handled as one case. In terms of judicial procedures and judicial logic, there are many things that need to be proved, which will help us drag out the case."

"But now if the local prosecutor directly prosecutes these workers, it will prove the point made by the Garden Trading Company's lawyers that Wheat Sprout and Garden Trading Company's claim for liquidated damages are two independent cases with no connection."

"The Court of Appeal is likely to dismiss the appeal and uphold the original verdict."

Once the original judgment is upheld, Garden Trading Company can request compulsory execution!

If they are unwilling to execute, they will not only face huge liquidated damages, but also late payment fees and judicial punitive fines for resisting execution!
You know, punitive fines are no joke, and many companies may not be able to withstand this judicial blow!
In the federal cases that have occurred, there have been cases involving a few hundred, a few thousand, or even tens of thousands of dollars that resulted in punitive fines of hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars!
Some companies were knocked down by just one punch!

Liji Group will definitely not be brought down by the hammer, but it will definitely not feel too good!
This time is different from the last time. Last time they were able to find other problems to delay the case indefinitely, such as they believed that Lance colluded with the appraiser and forged evidence.

Because the appraisers and their falsified evidence occurred in the Golden State, they filed them in the Golden State Court, not the Golden Harbor City Court.

That was their home ground, and they could drag the case on endlessly, but this time, it had nothing to do with the assessor, and the trial was quick and simple.

Their previous plan is now invalid.

The commissioner frowned, "So we have no solution at all?"

Several legal employees looked at each other, and finally someone said, "The only thing we can do now is to start with the suspect."

The commissioner couldn't help but light a cigarette. He crossed his arms and raised his chin. "Go on."

"We have to make the suspect admit that there was someone behind this, and then find a way to link this person to the Garden Trading Company. This way we have time to continue to add evidence to prove our point."

"At least it can delay the case for a few months. During this time, we can continue to try to turn the case into contract fraud according to our previous idea. Then it won't be a problem if it is delayed for a few years."

The commissioner nodded and exhaled a large puff of smoke. "So the core of the case now lies with those suspects?"

The legal advisor nodded. I'm afraid that's the case.

The commissioner sat there and thought for a while. "I will find a way to create some time for you to be alone. You have to finish your work."

He stood up and said, "I'm going to make a phone call..."

Although he did not graduate from a law school, he more or less knew some basic things.

For example, they must study these suspects and find a key person who is easy to "break through", and then find a way to convince the other party.

What he has to do now is to facilitate these things.

Soon he called a local Bay Area capitalist who had close cooperation with the Liji Group, and the other party acted as an intermediary to enable him to meet Director Hunter.

As long as Hunter nods, there will be a way to allow their lawyers to have private contact with the suspect.

Because he was anxious about the matter and the middleman was willing to contact Hunter for him, he quickly left the hotel and went to the city police station.

And in the city police chief's office, he met Chief Hunter.

Hunter, like Charlie, is a loyal lackey of the Bay Area, or they know better than anyone else who is the real master of this city!

A call from the Bay Area asked him to meet the visitor, so he made time for it.

When the specialist handed over his business card, Hunter realized that the person was from the Liji Group.

He smiled even more. As a monopoly enterprise with a profit of tens of millions or even hundreds of millions a year, in front of such a behemoth, he, the police chief, was just a small role.

"Is there anything I can do for you?" He lowered his posture.

The commissioner was still very reserved in front of such a small character, but of course behind his reserve was arrogance.

"My lawyer needs to spend some time alone with a suspect. They have something they want to talk about."

This is against the rules, but the rules do not restrict these big capitalists. Hunter had a smile on his face and agreed without even asking, "It's just a small matter, I'll help you arrange it!"

The Commissioner also smiled more, "You have my friendship, Chief Hunter!"

Director Hunter didn't know how much he would have to pay in the future for this friendship that he couldn't actually use, but at least he was happy now!

Everything is progressing according to the script.

In fact, a very interesting thing happened during this period. When Lance promised these workers who took the blame that he would let them out of prison as soon as possible, two of them even took the initiative to ask if they could serve the full sentence?

After all, a "job" that pays nearly two hundred yuan a month is arguably the highest income opportunity they have ever encountered in their lives!
Without prison and this opportunity, they would never have such a high income opportunity in their lifetime!
Ten years may seem like a long time, but if you think of it as a job, then it doesn’t have to be that long.

Moreover, Lance guaranteed that they would not be bullied in there, and the Lance family also had their own people in there who could take care of them.

Then what they have to do every day is the same work as outside, but the difference is that the working hours inside are only ten hours, and there are free lunch and dinner every day, as well as days off...

Where the hell can I find such a good job?
Ten years and twenty thousand dollars. If they miss this opportunity, they will never encounter it again in their lifetime!
However, Lance finally did not agree, which made them a little disappointed.

Later, Alvin told Lance that there were people out there who were willing to lower their prices to take the blame, and some even offered a thousand dollars a year.

This might be seen as a joke by people, but Lance felt that it was actually a social problem of not being able to make money.

After the mid-term strike, the dock's revenue has actually increased significantly, to 40 yuan per person or more.

But the whole society and economic market still look lifeless, and some people have already noticed that something is wrong.

The Federation had experienced several major depressions before this, and the current situation seemed to have some signs.

In the past two days, the bars in the Starlight District started formal operations after the trial operation. Although the business is not as good as before the closure, it is still okay overall.

At the same time, the bar manager also raised a new question -

“We need to expand some of our business.”

"The guys who come here to drink need some girls, you know, if they're just by themselves, they might just have one drink."

"But if there was a sensible girl, they might have finished a bottle of wine!"

"Our place is too clean now. We can't attract those young people who are rich and willing to spend money..."

(End of this chapter)