If the police force had a strength of 1700, yet only 1,000 suited up for duty, THEN wouldn't those 1,000 police know that there was a monumental scam taking place?
Does this not potentially imply at least a tacit participation by most of the force?
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Police were paid like $300 a week. That means they were expected to make most of their living elsewhere. What does that tell you? You can only make so much money moonlighting. You gotta sleep sometime.