The subtle art of standover: When debt collection goes bad

Andrew Rule· Host0:00

[pensive music] The common chiros are not the only enforcers in the debt collection caper, but they depend totally on their reputation for putting the dead into deadline. The creditors had heavies on hand to demand the return of their money, plus some extra for expenses. The conversation was a bit one-sided. The bad guys told our entrepreneur that if he touched his phone, his fingers would be cut off. I'm Andrew Rule. This is Life & Crimes. You can call it protection or you can call it debt collection. You can call it loan sharking. These are all variations on what the law calls extortion. Demanding payment with threats is nearly as old as crime itself. You could call it the second oldest profession, which is why brothels and massage parlors have traditionally been stood over or, air quotes, "protected" by one reptile to stop some other reptile from robbing them. Chopper Read spelled it out years ago. He said, "Why would you rob banks or sell drugs when you can simply rob the drug dealers? They can't holler for the police, and they can't take you to the small claims tribunal or to the civil courts, so they're the perfect target." And in fact, crooks like Chopper and others who were known in those