Hardy spent two days with Taylor in France before saying goodbye and flying back to Los Angeles. He has a lot of things to do now.
The movie "In the Rain" starring Ava Gardner and Gary Grant, and the movie "Singin' in the Rain" starring Judy Garland and Johnny Fontane, both movies have been completed and can be released at any time. Hardy decided to star in "In the Rain" first, and he planned to hold a grand premiere before the movie was released.
As for the supermarket chain and the logistics company, there were some things he needed to decide personally. When the supermarket chain's site selection in New York was reported to him, Hardy and the person in charge, Sam Walton, conducted on-site inspections and felt that the locations he selected were more in line with his requirements.
The logistics company has recruited a large number of drivers and has begun to take on transportation tasks. At the same time, it is building several large storage bases across California. The locations of these storage bases are much simpler than those of supermarkets, and the most important thing is that transportation must be convenient.
Everyday life is simple and busy.
President Johnson is on his speaking tour, and Hardy has seen the latest survey report, which shows that Johnson's data has improved significantly.
Everything is moving in the right direction.
But he didn't know that someone was plotting against him in private.
Dewey's assistant led people to investigate the matter of 'betting on TV lotteries'. This matter was not difficult to investigate. There were too many people who bet on TV lotteries across the United States, and it was easy to catch a large number of them. It only took a few days to collect a lot of evidence.
Dewey took the case file and read it carefully, frowning and saying, "Is that all?"
"Yes, that's all." said the assistant.
"The lottery draw was held in Las Vegas casinos and broadcast live on TV. Players paid money to a betting agency, which then placed bets for them. This Hardy got away with it really well. Even if the betting agency was found, it would not affect Hardy himself."
"We also checked the law and it's clear that they're skirting the law. If this form of betting is considered to be betting in a casino, then it can't be handled as a violation of the lottery ban. The only similarity to the lottery is that they don't need to go directly to the casino, but let someone else place the bet on their behalf."
"This situation has never happened before and there is no legal provision, so it is very difficult to catch the casino. Perhaps we can persuade the court to order a stop to this skirting of the law."
"As for conviction? I'm afraid it's difficult."
Dewey threw the information to his assistant, "That guy is too cunning. It's really hard to have any impact on Hardy like this, though."
Dewey thought about it.
"Let the New York State Attorney's Office refer the case to the Federal Supreme Court and sue Hardee's Hotel for violating the lottery ban. If he wins the case and the Supreme Court issues a ban, it will have a significant impact on his business, causing him to lose tens of millions every year. Humph, let's teach him a lesson. Even if we can't move to Hardee's, we'll still give him trouble." Dewey said.
The Federal Supreme Court received a lawsuit from California and sent a flyer to notify the Hardy Group to respond to the lawsuit. After receiving the lawsuit, the Hardy Group immediately notified Hardy.
He was charged by New York state prosecutors with "violating the lottery ban and conducting lottery activities in disguise," namely the casino's televised lottery draw activities.
New York State Attorney General.
The first person Hardy thought of was Dewey.
Before becoming governor, Dewey worked in the New York Attorney General's Office, where he had strong connections. Since he supported Johnson and had touched his cake and cake, Dewey naturally hated himself very much, as he was asking someone to cause trouble for him.
But Hardy wasn't too worried.
When he was organizing the TV awards ceremony, he thought of this point, so he set up a special investment company. The boss of the investment company was a member of the Los Angeles Gang and one of Hardy's die-hard subordinates.
By the way, this guy has been receiving psychiatric treatment these days, and he has treatment materials and medication certificates prescribed by the doctor.
As for me, I am definitely not sick.
Although it is impossible for the other party to find any evidence against Hardy, this business is the most profitable business in the casino, with more than 30 million dollars a year. If the Federal Supreme Court orders it to be closed, it will naturally cause huge losses to his business.
Hardy immediately notified Ross Baker and John McKeon from the law firm. As soon as they sat down, Hardy handed them the flyer and explained the whole thing in detail, including the operation model of the casino and the situation of the investment agency.
You cannot hide anything from your lawyers. If they cannot fully understand the situation, it will be very disadvantageous to the subsequent litigation. If the other party produces some evidence and the lawyers are unaware of this aspect, they will be very passive at that time.
Therefore, it is best for a lawyer to find someone he trusts the most.
After the two men finished listening to Hardy's story, Rosback said, "Boss, based on your story, we can be sure that Hardy's Hotel and you will not be held responsible for this matter. You can rest assured about this."
"As for the lottery agency, you also made plans in advance. I admire your foresight. What we are most concerned about now is whether the court will deem this behavior as lottery placement."
John McKeon said, "Boss, I thought about the clauses regarding the lottery ban, and now I can conclude that it is not within the scope of the ban. The main reason is that the model of casino betting agents has never appeared before. The gambling activities all take place in the casino, and the betting agents only help customers place bets. It does not violate Nevada's open gambling regulations."
"The only thing the other party can catch is that the customer is in another state and asks someone to help him place a bet over the phone. Whether this method can be regarded as gambling behavior taking place in another state is a controversial point."
The TV lottery model is, strictly speaking, somewhat similar to online gambling in later generations. Of course, it doesn’t exist now. When he first started, he had already thought that someone might use this to attack the casino, so he set up an agency to physically isolate himself from the trouble.
"The other party will hold on to this point because it is the only evidence they can hold. Boss, you know, a lawsuit like this may take a long time, even one or two years."
After hearing this, Hardy smiled and said, "One or two years, I don't care, I'll just play along with them, and you can earn a little more in legal fees, but in the end I hope we win, because this involves the casino's tens of millions of dollars in business every year."
"Another point is that we cannot allow the court to order a suspension of this business during the litigation period, as that would still cause us losses."
Hadi made his demands.
"Don't worry, boss. We will use all our strength to deal with this lawsuit." Rosback and John McKinsey said together.
After the two left, Hardy picked up the office phone and called the Godfather first. The Corrion family is also a major shareholder of the casino and should know about this.
After listening to this, the old godfather said, "I guess it was Dewey who did it."
"I think so too. After all, I am on his opponent's side and have become his enemy," said Hardy.
"What are you going to do next, Hardy?" asked the old godfather.
"As for responding to the lawsuit, I have asked the lawyers to form a strong team. It would be best if we can win the case. If there are any problems, we can wait for a year or two." Hardy said.
The old godfather admired Hardy's serious response.
"Well, you are not impulsive, which is good, Hardy. This is also my business. I have some connections in the legal community, and I will use them to help solve this matter." said the old godfather.
The old Godfather had been in business for decades and had certain connections in the political and judicial circles. This was also the main reason why other mafia families forced him at the time.
"That gives us a better chance of victory," Hardy said with a smile.
After hanging up the phone, Hardy called Giannini again. Bank of America is the second largest shareholder of Hardy's Hotel, with a 30% stake, second only to Hardy's 41%, and one percentage point more than the Corrion family.
After listening to Hadi's story, Janini frowned and asked, "Hadi, do you know who wants to attack us?"
"I guess it's Dewey," said Hardy.
Hardy supported Johnson, and now the other party's revenge came so quickly. In fact, Janini was a little angry at Hardy for taking the initiative and affecting the business, but he could not say anything now.
He is waiting for the result.
Hadi said there would be a war in the Middle East, and if that war really broke out, perhaps Johnson would still have a chance.
Of course,
If Johnson loses, he will kick the Hardy Group out of the consortium without hesitation. As for the private agreement between the two before, haha, that's a joke.
"Hardy, I have some friendship with a judge of the Federal Supreme Court. I will call him," said Giannini.
Hang up the phone.
Hardy smiled.
The Godfather is a gangster boss with extensive connections, and Giannini is a conglomerate boss with extensive connections as well. It is enough for the official to have two people to look for.
However, Hardy was very unhappy about Dewey's attack on him. After thinking about it, he called Henry.
Henry came over soon.
After two years of development, HD Security has made great progress. Now each department has been refined. Hardy's original group of brothers are also growing, and Henry has become a qualified head of the intelligence department.
Hardy told Henry about the prosecution and said to him:
"First, we need to investigate who ordered this incident, who is in charge of the New York State prosecutors, who is the Supreme Court Justice who took this case, and the Supreme Court Justice's temperament and character, so as to provide intelligence support for the legal team."
"Second, start investigating all useful information about Dewey. I never believe that a person is perfect. Since you choose to attack me, you must be prepared to accept retaliation."
"Third, look for intelligence from people close to Dewey. It would be best if there is concrete evidence of the crime. Perhaps such people will be able to play a significant role when the time comes."
"I understand, boss." Henry took the order and went out.
......
The Hardy Group was sued by the New York State Attorney's Office, and the Federal Supreme Court issued a lawsuit against it. Naturally, it could not be kept secret, and all major newspapers published articles about it immediately.
New York Times:
"New York State prosecutors sued the Hardy Group for illegally engaging in lottery business, and the Hardy Group received a subpoena from the Federal Supreme Court."
Los Angeles Times:
"Will the boss of Hardy Group face jail time?"
Global Times:
"Hardy Group received a subpoena, and President Andy said he was not worried about it."