History Main / LegitimateBusinessmensSocialClub

** Saul also tries convincing [[Characters/BreakingBadJessePinkman Jesse Pinkman]] to purchase a nail salon to launder his money, but Jesse hates the idea of doing taxes and running a business (as well as having to give Saul a 17% cut) despite being a criminal and [[SubvertedTrope rejects it]].

** When [[Characters/BreakingBadWalterWhite Walter White]] earns his massive bucketloads of cash from meth-cooking, [[Characters/BreakingBadSaulGoodman Saul Goodman]] recommends that Walt and Skyler should purchase a legitimate front in order to launder all this money. Saul tries to convince them to buy a laser tag arena (because it's managed by someone in on the take), but Skyler decides the old car wash where Walter used to work is more in-character, including working as the wash's manager to launder the money by reporting additional nonexistent customers. Unfortunately, Walt [[GoneHorriblyRight ends up earning so much money]], there's no way for Skyler to convincingly launder it all, leaving them with a small mountain of greenbacks they can't even use without arousing suspicion. Saul also tries convincing [[Characters/BreakingBadJessePinkman Jesse Pinkman]] to purchase a nail salon to launder his money, but Jesse hates the idea of doing taxes and running a business (as well as having to give Saul a 17% cut) despite being a criminal and [[SubvertedTrope rejects it]].

** When [[Characters/BreakingBadWalterWhite Walter White]] earns his massive bucketloads of cash from meth-cooking, [[Characters/BreakingBadSaulGoodman Saul Goodman]] recommends that Walt and Skyler should purchase a legitimate front in order to launder all this money. Saul tries to convince them to buy a laser tag arena (because it's managed by someone in on the take), but Skyler decides the old car wash where Walter used to work is more in-character, including working as the wash's manager to launder the money by reporting additional nonexistent customers. Unfortunately, Walt [[GoneHorriblyRight ends up earning so much money]], there's no way for Skyler to convincingly launder it all, leaving them with a small mountain of greenbacks they can't even use without arousing suspicion. Saul also tries convincing Jesse to purchase a nail salon to launder his money, but Jesse hates the idea of doing taxes and running a business (as well as having to give Saul a 17% cut) despite being a criminal and [[SubvertedTrope rejects it]].

** When Walt earns his massive bucketloads of cash from meth-cooking, Saul has him and Skyler purchase a legitimate front in order to launder this money. Saul tries to convince them to buy a laser tag arena (because it's managed by someone in on the take), but Skyler decides the old car wash where Walter used to work is more in-character, including working as the wash's manager to launder the money by reporting additional nonexistent customers. Unfortunately, Walt [[GoneHorriblyRight ends up earning so much money]], there's no way for Skyler to convincingly launder it all, leaving them with a small mountain of greenbacks they can't even use without arousing suspicion. Saul also tries convincing Jesse to purchase a nail salon to launder his money, but Jesse hates the idea of doing taxes and running a business (as well as having to give Saul a 17% cut) despite being a criminal and [[SubvertedTrope rejects it]].
** Saul has a correspondent named Ed Galbraith who will give anyone a new, untraceable identity somewhere else in the country within a day for a flat fee of $125 000 per person (and he can raise the fee for more difficult clients). The location he runs this business from is a regular vacuum cleaner repair shop, and the secret code for requesting a disappearance from Ed is to ask for a new dust filter for a Hoover Max Extract® Pressure Pro™ Model 60.

** [[Characters/BreakingBadGustavoFring Gustavo Fring]] from is a [[CorruptCorporateExecutive fast-food tycoon / drug lord]] who uses his chain of fried chicken restaurants (Los Pollos Hermanos) as a legitimate front for his underground meth-trafficking cartel. Gus Fring's drug ring also hides their meth-producing lab underneath a mundane laundromat building called the Lavandería Brillante; it's a perfect front for shipping in industrial quantities of chemicals and having tons of trucks coming and going without anyone batting an eye. Most of the employees (with the exception of the manager) are legitimate, primarily because the laundromat only employs poor Latino immigrants that can be threatened with deportation if they peek too closely on what's really going on. Surprisingly, there's no jokes about "money laundering".

* [[Characters/BreakingBadGustavoFring Gustavo Fring]] from ''Series/BreakingBad'' and ''Series/BetterCallSaul'' is a [[CorruptCorporateExecutive fast-food tycoon / drug lord]] who uses his chain of fried chicken restaurants (Los Pollos Hermanos) as a legitimate front for his underground meth-trafficking cartel. Gus Fring's drug ring also hides their meth-producing lab underneath a mundane laundromat building called the Lavandería Brillante; it's a perfect front for shipping in industrial quantities of chemicals and having tons of trucks coming and going without anyone batting an eye. Most of the employees (with the exception of the manager) are legitimate, primarily because the laundromat only employs poor Latino immigrants that can be threatened with deportation if they peek too closely on what's really going on. Surprisingly, there's no jokes about "money laundering".

*** Averted by the [[MurderInc Morag Tong]], since despite being assassins, their existence is perfectly legal and they have no need to hide their presence (except for their headquarters in Vivec, which is extremely well hidden, but that is at least partly as a test for would-be initiates).

* ''[[Literature/DiogenesClub The Serial Murders]]'' by Creator/KimNewman: Lampshaded -- psychic investigator Richard Jeperson is introduced to some very obvious Legitimate Businessmen by the villain, who is auctioning his supernatural powers to be used for assassination. Upon being introduced to them, Jeperson quips that they must be 'olive oil salesmen', in reference to ''Film/TheGodfather'' example. They appreciate the joke, but the villain -- who is both rather uncultured and a bit of an idiot -- is lost.

* ''[[Literature/DiogenesClub The Serial Murders]]'' by Creator/KimNewman: Lampshaded -- psychic investigator Richard Jeperson is introduced to some very obvious Legitimate Businessmen by the villain, who is auctioning his supernatural powers to be used for assassination. Upon being introduced to them, Jeperson guesses that they're 'olive oil salesmen', in reference to ''Film/TheGodfather'' example above. They appreciate the joke, but the villain -- who is both rather uncultured and a bit of an idiot -- is lost.

* [[Characters/BreakingBadGustavoFring Gustavo Fring]] from ''Series/BreakingBad'' and ''Series/BetterCallSaul'' is a [[CorruptCorporateExecutive fast-food tycoon / drug lord]] who uses his chain of fried chicken restaurants (Los Pollos Hermanos) as a legitimate front for his underground meth-trafficking cartel. Gus Fring's drug ring also hides their meth-producing lab underneath a mundane laundromat building called the Lavandería Brillante; it's a perfect front for shipping in industrial quantities of chemicals without anyone batting an eye. Most of the employees (with the exception of the manager) are legitimate, primarily because the laundromat only employs poor Latino immigrants that can be threatened with deportation if they peek too closely on what's really going on. Surprisingly, there's no jokes about "money laundering".

* ''Series/BreakingBad'': Gus hides his drug empire's meth-producing lab underneath a mundane laundromat building called the Lavandería Brillante; it's a perfect front for shipping in industrial quantities of chemicals without anyone batting an eye. Most of the employees, with the exception of the manager, are legitimate, primarily because the laundromat only employs poor immigrants that can be threatened with deportation if they peek too closely on what's really going on. Surprisingly, there's no jokes about "money laundering".

* ''Series/BreakingBad'': Gus hides his drug empire's meth-producing lab underneath a mundane laundromat building called the Lavandería Brillante. Most of the employees, with the exception of the manager, are legitimate, primarily because the laundromat only employs poor immigrants that can be threatened with deportation if they peek too closely on what's really going on. Surprisingly, there's no jokes about "money laundering".

** Proposition Joe runs his drug empire out of his appliance repair shop. He actually does repair appliances for people in his community, though he notes that modern society is too wasteful to actually make appliance repair profitable. He simply enjoys it.

** Proposition Joe runs his drug empire out of his appliance repair shop. He actually does repair appliances for people in his community, though he notes that modern society is too wasteful to actually make appliance repair profitable.

*** In the episode where Fat Tony's son appeared, the front is "Waste Management".

* Chinese-American (and -Canadian) gangs called "[[TheTriadsAndTheTongs Tongs]]" literally translate to "social club". Some tongs have actually reformed and become actual civic-minded organizations.
* Former Gambino boss Paul Castellano had at one point launched a poultry business called "Dial Poultry" (based on Castellano's background as a meat butcher); which supplied poultry to several UsefulNotes/NewYorkCity grocery chains. While technically legitimate, Castellano would not hesitate to resort to various forms of intimidation to convince the "customers" to carry the poultry. Part of this was that Castellano fancied himself more of a "legitimate businessman"; and while some businesses he ran did technically become legitimate, the intimidation tactics and the Mob ties helped ensure their success.

* The Hells Angels often use the legitimate aspect of their club to mask their criminal activities. Members insist they are only a group of motorcycle enthusiasts who have joined to ride motorcycles together, to organize social events such as group road trips, fundraisers, parties, and motorcycle rallies, and that any crimes are the responsibility of the individuals who carried them out and not the club as a whole.

Ah, TheMafia. Known for their subtlety and planning, they can orchestrate murder, drug dealing, prostitution, and [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking the sale of illicit tomato sauce]] without anyone finding out. But their fronts lack the same subtlety, as can clearly be seen on the massive sign above their hideout that says "'''[[PaperThinDisguise Legitimate Casino]]! [[SuspiciouslySpecificDenial Not Mafia-owned!]]'''" Expect a great deal of {{Doublespeak}}. In many cases, what gives the game away is the effort put into securing a supposedly legitimate establishment -- if it's not important, why is there a scary guy in front staring at passers-by?

* [[Series/MontyPythonsFlyingCircus Luigi Vercotti]] would like to remind you that he runs a high-class establishment for the gentry of Biggleswade, and [[SuspiciouslySpecificDenial not a cheap clip joint for picking up tarts]].

* In ''VideoGame/Persona2'', the Zodiac Club is run by the Masquerade, a cult with Zodiac-themed names for its members. In the sequel, the club falls under the ownership of the [[TheTriadsAndTheTongs Taiwanese mob]].

* In the 70's and through into the early 2000's, it would be easier to list the businesses in [[UsefulNotes/Baltimore Baltimore, MD]] that ''weren't'' an example of this trope. Let's see, there was the schools, the hospitals...and that was pretty much it.