Chương 160: Political Intimidation

The curtains in Russell Harrison's office were drawn tightly shut, keeping out the chilly Indianapolis night wind.

The brass lamp on the table cast a dim yellow light, illuminating the open black ledger and the mountain of documents piled up beside it.

Those were the documents Russell had on hand: state legislators' asset declarations, business registers, land transfer records, and even several internal memos leaked from Wall Street law firms.

The air was thick with the smell of cigar smoke and coffee.

They had been working for five or six hours.

"here."

Arthur drew a heavy horizontal line under a line in the ledger with his pen.

He looked up at Russell, who was sitting on the opposite sofa with bloodshot eyes.

"State Senate Majority Leader, Jim Caldwell. The guy who's going to introduce the Farm Asset Restructuring Act at the hearing tomorrow."

Russell pinched the bridge of his nose, propped himself up from the sofa, walked to the table, and leaned over to take a look.

"He is Wall Street's top mouthpiece in the Indiana state legislature. It's an open secret that he received at least $50, 000 in political donations from the Mellon Group."

"But donations are so common in politics that it's impossible to bring him down."

Arthur turned to page 142 of the ledger and pointed to a record marked in red ink.

Over the past three months, the Midwest Agricultural Trust transferred 3, 000 acres of prime farmland in the Terre Haute area, which had been forcibly sold, to a private company called Continental Timber Development for less than two dollars per acre.

"This price is about one-tenth of the market price."

Arthur pushed a business register in front of Russell and turned to a page.

"I just checked the state business registration directory. The controlling shareholder of this Continental Timber Development Company is Richard Miller."

Arthur paused, looking into Russell's eyes.

"Richard Miller is the younger brother of Senator Jim Caldwell's wife. In other words, Caldwell's brother-in-law."

Russell instantly understood the underlying chain of interests.

"Coldwell isn't just working for Wall Street—" Russell gritted his teeth, his voice filled with cold killing intent.

"He's using the state laws he promoted to directly seize the land of bankrupt farmers in his own district! This is blatant embezzlement!"

"But if we go through the state court process, Caldwell has plenty of ways to delay. By the time the dust settles, Indiana will have been completely divided up."

"So what do you mean?" Russell stared intently at Arthur.

Arthur did not answer directly. He pulled several blank documents bearing the emblem of the U. S. Congress from his briefcase and neatly arranged them on the table.

Midwest Agricultural Trust is registered in New York. Continental Timber Development is registered in Indiana.

"The contract between them to transfer the title of these three thousand acres of land, including all the correspondence, legal documents, and remittance receipts, must have been sent through the U. S. Postal Service."

Arthur raised his head, his eyes flashing with a deadly sharpness under the light.

"Using the interstate postal system for insider trading and transfer of benefits triggers a federal felony, interstate mail fraud."

Russell's breath caught in his throat for a moment.

Interstate mail fraud.

This is one of the most lethal crimes in the federal justice system.

A charge can be established as long as there is fraudulent intent.

Once indicted, the defendant faces up to twenty years in federal prison and is not protected by any state immunity.

As a special investigator for the House of Representatives, Arthur only needs a subpoena to get federal judicial authorities involved in the investigation.

Arthur pushed the blank congressional subpoenas in front of Russell.

"This is the hand we have, Chairman Harrison. This isn't just any hole card; it's a massive bomb."

Russell stared at the summonses on the table and remained silent for a long time.

The cigar burned between his fingers, and ashes fell all over the table, but he was completely unaware.

"How do you plan to use this bomb? Detonate it right there at the hearing? Send Caldwell to federal prison in front of all the state legislators and reporters?"

"No. That's the dumbest way to use it."

"Destroy one Caldwell, and Wall Street can just create another one tomorrow. Killing one sheep makes no difference to the bigger picture."

Arthur turned around and met Russell's gaze.

"We don't want his life, we want his votes."

Russell frowned.

"You want to bribe him? With what? We don't have as much money as Wall Street."

"Money is the lowest-level chip. In the political game, there are only two things that are truly valuable: fear and ambition."

""

"Coldwell is a smart man. He knows he's playing with fire, and he knows that money on Wall Street comes at a price."

"But he bet that no one could flip the table in this game. Now, we're going to show him that the table can be flipped at any time, and he'll be the first one crushed to death."

37

"This is fear," Russell nodded.

"And what about ambition?"

"I know the Democrats are pushing for a federal agricultural relief bill. If the Democrats win more seats in next year's midterm elections, this bill will pass. At that time, tens of millions of dollars in federal relief funds will flow into the Midwestern states."

Arthur's lips curled up slightly.

"Coldwell is the Majority Leader in the Indiana State Legislature. If he stands with the farmers at this crucial moment, he will be a hero defending Indiana's land."

"Once the relief funds arrive, he will be the one responsible for distributing them. It's legitimate, aboveboard political capital that can be included in his campaign statement."

"You should trade future benefits for his current betrayal." Russell's eyes lit up.

"A stick in one hand, a carrot in the other. That's the oldest rule of the game in Washington."

"If you let him see hope in his fear, he will be like a tamed dog, obediently biting the people we let him bite."

Russell stood up and walked over to Arthur.

He stretched out a large, calloused hand and patted Arthur heavily on the shoulder, laughing.

"Elizabeth said in a telegram that you're a dangerous guy. She's too conservative. You're practically a born political butcher."

Arthur calmly accepted the praise.

He glanced at the clock on the wall; it was 2 a. m.

"There are still 8 hours until the hearing. I need to meet with Caldwell alone before it officially begins."

"I'll send someone to make arrangements."

"Need not.

"" Arthur shook his head.

"The fewer people who know about this, the better. I'll go find him myself."