So, Mike is asking Gus to...
...launder his stash of cash, right? Exactly how will that work?
shareFind out.. on the next Better Call Saul!
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MovieChat Forums > Better Call Saul (2015) Discussion > So, Mike is asking Gus to...
Well, Gus does have a legitimate business that is extremely successful. Arguably Mike could be a silent investor.
shareArguably Mike could be a silent investor.
Or take a job there, as an overpaid corporate security detective.
Mub share
Or take a job there, as an overpaid corporate security detective.
Mub
Mike working for Gus as muscle? Nah, don't see it... share
"Or take a job there, as an overpaid corporate security detective."
It seems to me that Gus would be much too cautious to put an enforcer on the books of his legit businesses. If his guy gets caught in some action against a competitor or otherwise comes to the attention of law enforcement, that would be a trail straight back to Gus. If Mike's off the books, that connection is absent.
Also, if Mike's salary were to be paid in his own laundered money, it would be a definite red flag if he were to be compensated at an absurdly elevated rate, say $15k a week, where some other security personnel were paid $2k. That would be an alarm-triggering W-2.
Even as an investor, to appear legitimate, records would have to be kept, and IRS reports would have to be filed. That would bring Mike right back to having to explain where a dishonored ex-cop got the capital in the first place.
It was pretty clever of the writers to take all of the concerns that skeptical viewers like yourself had, put them into Mike thoughts, and have Lydia counter them fairly effectively. It's true that Mike's history would be a red flag, but by burying the money in the books of a huge conglomerate, at least you could see how possibly nothing would be triggered unless by a random audit. I don't get why he needs the money so quickly... it would draw way less attention if he spread it over five years.
shareit would draw way less attention if he spread it over five years.
Yes, but Mike is old. I could see that he has a legitimate concern that with all the activities in which he is engaging, he could get killed. In that case, what would happen to all the money he wanted to go to Kaylee? (We can see this in Breaking Bad, when Gus Fring dies and they open up his books and find Mike's accounts for Kaylee. He lost it all.) share
He still didn't fully trust Lydia, and his instincts were correct. In Breaking Bad, not only did she try to have him killed, the DEA pretty much went straight to her office when they started looking at Madrigal.
shareHe's worried about the IRS not the DEA... so although my memory is foggy, what he was actually concerned about didn't directly happen.
shareI have to admit to watching the last ep with a smile on my face as the writers deftly addressed the questions I raised. Fring's alliance with Madrigal never occurred to me in trying to guess how Gus could help Mike launder the money. It's fun to have a battle of wits with the writers, and a kick to see how they anticipate and squelch skeptics like moi.
The only question that crossed my mind from that scene was that it seemed unlikely that a clued-in guy like Mike would carry his Social Security card on his person. With his background, I'd think he'd be wary of major identity theft if his wallet ever fell into the wrong hands. Even in 2003, I think that was a concern.
Maybe it was a generational thing, but some people used to carry around their SS card-- like a license. My parents used to. At any rate, Mike went there with the expectation that he had to provide legitimate documentation for a job to allow him to "earn" the money he wanted to launder.
shareTrue, but maybe he feels it is safer in his wallet than laying at home where a burglar could get it. He could throw it in with his money stash... but probably a safe deposit box would be best.
sharehe isn't doing any work..he's just on the payroll
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