# More businesses you suspect of being fronts? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 15, 2013, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-businesses-you-suspect-of-being-fronts/673985 "2013-11-15T15:05:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2013, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-businesses-you-suspect-of-being-fronts/673985/21 "2013-11-15T23:57:37Z")
> [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](#): > > Local “pizza parlor” that has hookhahs on every table, laughing people stumbling out at 4:45 AM, **filthy** , rats running around the trash cans. > > The cops don’t close it. > Neither does Health. And you know what happens there at 4:45AM how? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2013, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-businesses-you-suspect-of-being-fronts/673985/22 "2013-11-16T00:05:47Z")
> [@Marion\_Wormer](#): > > the victimless crime of gambling. I wouldn’t consider gambling a victimless crime, but YMMV. A while back, I was perusing a major timesuck, my state’s website listing disciplinary actions taken against pharmacists, and there was the pharmacist who clearly opened a store for the sole purpose of defrauding Medicaid, another who converted her home into a marijuana grow house but tried to say it all belonged to her ex-boyfriend, and in the “Stupid Criminals” department, one man who lost his license because he was arrested for exposing himself to women in the parking lot of the store where he worked. :smack: Little hole-in-the-wall resale shops pop up in my city all the time, and usually fold as quickly (their life expectancy seems to be measured in weeks) but there are a few that are probably hobby businesses, if they are legitimate, because they really are “junk stores”. ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2013, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-businesses-you-suspect-of-being-fronts/673985/23 "2013-11-16T00:16:52Z")
Del Floria’s Tailor Shop ---
**Author:** ![5\_time\_champ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/5/278dde/32.png) [@5\_time\_champ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/5_time_champ)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2013, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-businesses-you-suspect-of-being-fronts/673985/24 "2013-11-16T00:29:23Z")
A1 Car Wash ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2013, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-businesses-you-suspect-of-being-fronts/673985/25 "2013-11-16T02:51:34Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > And you know what happens there at 4:45AM how? > > 😕 I get up & go to work. And stop at the grocery, just across the street. ---
**Author:** ![Suburban\_Plankton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suburban_plankton/32/219_2.png) [@Suburban\_Plankton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Suburban_Plankton)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2013, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-businesses-you-suspect-of-being-fronts/673985/26 "2013-11-16T03:07:53Z")
There’s a Fish ‘n’ Chips ‘restaurant’ that I pass on the way home from work. It’s in a not-to-nice part of town, and there’s always one or two people in the place when I drive by. No more, no fewer. I can’t image the (business legitimate) could possibly be viable. ---
**Author:** ![Marion\_Wormer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d07c76/32.png) [@Marion\_Wormer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marion_Wormer)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2013, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-businesses-you-suspect-of-being-fronts/673985/27 "2013-11-16T03:16:01Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > I wouldn’t consider gambling a victimless crime, but YMMV. OT, but why not victimless? Are you thinking of the damage it does to the community? Or that gambling attracts a certain personality as can be just as addictive as drugs? Or that in states with OTB it deprives the state of revenues? I don’t disagree with those views, it’s just I figure it’s far more benign than prostitution or drugs. OTOH I have zero interest in gambling, and probably don’t have a sophisticated view. ---
**Author:** ![all\_timestamps\_displayed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/958977/32.png) [@all\_timestamps\_displayed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/all_timestamps_displayed)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2013, 5:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-businesses-you-suspect-of-being-fronts/673985/28 "2013-11-16T05:36:32Z")
[ul] [li]Movie theater that often has more people behind the snack counter than inside, and takes cash only[/li][li]Tanning Salon (all of them)[/li][li]Doggie Grooming Business[/li][li]Internet Cafe[/li][li]Restaurant (much easier to keep open when you’re not dependent on the paper thin margins)[/li][li]Car detailing[/li][li]Almost any business that accepts cash but doesn’t have to keep records or inventory[/li][/ul] ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2013, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-businesses-you-suspect-of-being-fronts/673985/29 "2013-11-16T13:38:39Z")
I suspect a _ **lot** _ of churches are not legit. I figure it’s the _perfect_ front organization, since you don’t have to worry about inventory, bookkeeping, etc. “Oh, look… Gertrude donated another $5000 last Sunday. She is so sweet.” ---
**Author:** ![jonesj2205](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ecc23a/32.png) [@jonesj2205](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jonesj2205)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2013, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-businesses-you-suspect-of-being-fronts/673985/30 "2013-11-16T13:53:25Z")
A few years ago a pizza joint here was busted for selling drugs. If you ordered an anchovy pizza for delivery it came with an 8-ball. Which confirmed that pizza delivery is a great cover and nobody likes anchovy pizza. They actually did a decent legit business too. ---
**Author:** ![lazybratsche](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ba8739/32.png) [@lazybratsche](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lazybratsche)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2013, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-businesses-you-suspect-of-being-fronts/673985/31 "2013-11-16T14:54:44Z")
> [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](#): > > Local “pizza parlor” that has hookhahs on every table, laughing people stumbling out at 4:45 AM, **filthy** , rats running around the trash cans. > > The cops don’t close it. > Neither does Health. Is there other night life in the area? I’ve seen an awful lot of pizza joints or greasy diners that do a huge business feeding the people who are drunk and hungry after the bars close at 2 AM. And hookah is a pretty trendy thing right now. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2013, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-businesses-you-suspect-of-being-fronts/673985/32 "2013-11-16T15:19:26Z")
> [@Eutychus](#): > > Maybe it’s a thing about Chinese restaurants. > > There’s one we pass by almost every day. We’ve never stopped in to try it, but no matter what time of the day or night, there are never any customers. > > There is a big plate glass window in front where you can see the dining room very well, but it is always, without exception, empty. There’s one by me as well. It’s been around for as long as I can remember…well, at least as long as I’ve had my driver’s license (so, 17+years). From time to time I’ll see a car or two in the lot, but that’s it, you’d think at least the people who work there would have their cars in the lot. What’s odd is that they’ve got a really, really good spot for a restaurant and whenever I look around on the internet to see what I can find out about them they get really good reviews. So, are they just stuck in a cycle where they can’t get enough customers in the door to make enough money to fix the place up to make it more attractive to bring in more customers OR Are they actively pushing people away so they can continue doing what they need to do behind the scenes. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2013, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-businesses-you-suspect-of-being-fronts/673985/33 "2013-11-16T15:55:23Z")
> [@jonesj2205](#): > > A few years ago a pizza joint here was busted for selling drugs. If you ordered an anchovy pizza for delivery it came with an 8-ball. > Which confirmed that pizza delivery is a great cover and nobody likes anchovy pizza. > They actually did a decent legit business too. I occasionally forget about Domino’s politics and order an anchovy pizza from them. MMMMMMMMM! ---
**Author:** ![Martin\_Hyde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/47e85d/32.png) [@Martin\_Hyde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martin_Hyde)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2013, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-businesses-you-suspect-of-being-fronts/673985/34 "2013-11-16T16:30:01Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > I occasionally forget about Domino’s politics and order an anchovy pizza from them. MMMMMMMMM! What politics? ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2013, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-businesses-you-suspect-of-being-fronts/673985/35 "2013-11-16T22:34:44Z")
> [@lazybratsche](#): > > Is there other night life in the area? I’ve seen an awful lot of pizza joints or greasy diners that do a huge business feeding the people who are drunk and hungry after the bars close at 2 AM. And hookah is a pretty trendy thing right now. It’s 4 blocks from the university. Bars & restaurants aplenty. And they have no beer license. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2013, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-businesses-you-suspect-of-being-fronts/673985/36 "2013-11-17T00:41:02Z")
> [@jonesj2205](#): > > A few years ago a pizza joint here was busted for selling drugs. If you ordered an anchovy pizza for delivery it came with an 8-ball. > Which confirmed that pizza delivery is a great cover and nobody likes anchovy pizza. > They actually did a decent legit business too. So, someone wondered why their pizza cost $200, or whatever the going rate is for an 8-ball? ---
**Author:** ![Accidental\_Martyr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ce7236/32.png) [@Accidental\_Martyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Accidental_Martyr)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2013, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-businesses-you-suspect-of-being-fronts/673985/37 "2013-11-17T00:52:47Z")
> [@Martin\_Hyde](#): > > What politics? The founder of Domino’s is anti-abortion and has supported anti-abortion groups. However, he no longer owns Domino’s. > **[Domino's Pizza and Operation Rescue](https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/domino-theory/)** > > Does Domino's Pizza support Operation Rescue, an anti-abortion group? ---
**Author:** ![robert\_columbia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@robert\_columbia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robert_columbia)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2013, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-businesses-you-suspect-of-being-fronts/673985/38 "2013-11-17T01:16:30Z")
I was driving in the rural South one time when I came upon an “Antiques” shop inside what looked like an old barn. Fair enough, rural and small-town areas in the US tend to have a lot of antiques shops, but normally not in barns. A converted farmhouse maybe, but not the barn. Anyway, the “antiques” were basically consumer junk from the past few decades, not real “antiques”. They had a book collection, and I eventually selected one or two novels from the 1930’s, almost certainly not worth much on the resale market, and besides, they _smelled_! I went looking for the cashier, and the only staff appeared to be a bunch of people sitting around chatting. No cash register. I inquired about buying, they quoted some ridiculously small price like 50 cents or something, I happened to have exact change, and the one who took it just shoved it in their pocket, no receipt, nothing. Boy did that book reek! Guess that’s what happens when you store it in a barn with no climate control for 10 years. ---
**Author:** ![robert\_columbia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@robert\_columbia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robert_columbia)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2013, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-businesses-you-suspect-of-being-fronts/673985/39 "2013-11-17T01:27:13Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > There’s little places like that in my town too. I suspect that they make most of their money off of local businesses and/or government offices, and the occasional walk-in isn’t really where their profit is centered. A lot of government contractors seem to operate on their own, disconnected from the rest of the world. They don’t advertise as we know it - their ads are in the form of Proposals sent directly to the government in response to RFP’s. Pricing is arcane and based on complex formulas that are detailed in the proposal documents - you can’t just walk up to the Army and offer 100 rifles for $10,000 - you have to provide a breakdown of how much the handle cost, how much the receiver cost, whether these costs are computed based on actual time spent in manufacture plus the materials costs (i.e. “time and materials”) for these specific 100 guns or whether it is based on some broader empirical estimate of the average cost of such a gun, what percentage of the product was made by minority-owned subcontractors, biographies of your key employees, and a breakdown of all sanctions ever issued against your company. Almost nobody goes in or out of government contractor facilities except employees and the occasional government official or candidate for hire. I could see a business equipment shop deciding to target government procurement customers as their niche. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2013, 8:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-businesses-you-suspect-of-being-fronts/673985/40 "2013-11-17T08:40:29Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > and in the “Stupid Criminals” department, one man who lost his license because he was arrested for exposing himself to women in the parking lot of the store where he worked. :smack: Flashers do seem to be on the low end of the criminal IQ scale. Locally, i can recall: - the flasher who stationed himself on the walking path from a hospital to the nursing students’ dorm. He disappeared after about 3 days of nurses who said they just ‘pointed and laughed’. - the flasher who hung around the employee parking lot of the vasectomy clinic. He left after employees offered to ‘shave that for him’. - and the flasher who left, disappointed by the lack of reaction from pairs of women coming out to their cars, he was hanging out in the dark parking lot of … the largest lesbian bar in the cities. These criminals don’t seem to put much thought into location. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-businesses-you-suspect-of-being-fronts/673985.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-businesses-you-suspect-of-being-fronts/673985.md?page=3)