The burglar tools were needed for the break-in. The cameras and the bugging equipment were more suspicious but were necessary for the job. But why were they carrying $3500 in sequential bills (the equivalent of about $17000 in current dollars)? If it was payment for the job, shouldn’t they have left it somewhere else? Was it supposed to be in case they had to bribe somebody if they were spotted? You’d think Liddy and Hunt would have realized the importance the burglars not carrying anything that would make the police suspicious that they were more then ordinary criminals if they got caught.
According to Liddy, he paid them for that job, and the previous break-in job, just before they went in. He mentions being annoyed at McCord over this, because Liddy felt that McCord should have done this one as a “freebie,” since they were only going in a second time to fix/re-position the bugs that weren’t working from the first time.
And they were wearing suits as well. And they taped the doors horizontally instead of vertically which is what tipped the secuirty guard off.
I always wondered why they weren’t more careful. They should have dressed like homeless guys and, if caught, start praying to the desk or something…