"I have always suspected that the same is the case in most Chinese restaurants I go too."
Yes. There is a Chinese joint in Bellevue, WA catering to the computer executive crowd that has a cash register for show and puts cash into, and makes change from something looking like a cigar box.
I was told by a Seattle Gang Unit detective that The I-5 corridor between Vancouver, BC, Canada and Southern California is the favored route of Chinese illegals, smugglers, and gangs.
Chinese Tongs and Triads are well ensconsed in the Pacific NW.
Are you going to call them?