I was confused as to what exactly the "real" family job was. Why did she send the journal to the senator and what would it have done if he didn't send it back? Why did the police bust the two hotels? I got the feeling it was prostitution but it could have been something else.
shareI got the feeling the father was involved in some type of criminal activities related to some of his real estate holdings. When the bust was going on and David was talking to his father on the phone his father was adamant that he get to the other hotel quickly and "pick up the cash". I thought the ledger she sent to the senator showed proof of his criminal activities (perhaps some kind of payoff other than rent from the tenants for allowing them to operate there or kickbacks from the prostitution ring?) and the senator swept it under the rug and sent the proof back to David's father. I don't know if the real family was involved in any criminal activity in their real life as all I have read so far is they were in real estate. But, as we all know there are many criminals who operate under the radar and have legitimate businesses that cover for their criminal activities.
shareThe old man was probably extorting money from his tenants because he knew they were engaged in illegal activities (prostitution) in the buildings he owned. The old man was probably a heavy campaign contributor to Senator Mohynihan, so the Senator returned the ledger to the real estate company (David's brother).
It's a record of something illegal that the father was involved in.
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I http://www.maquiberrysuperberry.com
"In 2002, a provocative new book was published: "A Deadly Secret" by Matt Birkbeck. According to Robert Ingrassia of the New York Daily News, "Birkbeck says a friend urged Kathie Durst to tell her husband that if he didn't give her a fair divorce settlement, she would turn him in for embezzling from his family's company."
http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/notorious_murders/classics/robert_durst/7.html
The movie did not make this scene very clear. Since he was stealing from his family business the police chief said it was a family problem and not a police problem.