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72-457: The film follows a group of professional bank robbers (Ealy, Brown, Christensen, Walker and Elba) who specialize in spectacular robberies. They are pulled into one last job by a recently paroled cohort (T.I.) only to be pitted against a hard-boiled detective (Dillon) and his partner (Hernandez) who interrupt their heist. Detectives Jack Welles and Eddie Hatcher investigate a daring heist by a group of well-organized bank robbers. Led by Gordon Cozier,

144-421: A darknet market ) and thus might be thought of as a fence in a more traditional sense. At the other extreme are intermediaries that are legitimate and respected platforms being used in defiance of their terms and conditions and in spite of aggressive and ongoing actions to interdict such illegal activities. Box Office Mojo Box Office Mojo is an American website that tracks box-office revenue in

216-422: A fence , or receiver , (銷贓者), was a merchant who bought and sold stolen goods . Fences were part of the extensive network of accomplices in the criminal underground of Ming and Qing China. Their occupation entailed criminal activity, but as fences often had a non-criminal primary occupation, they acted as liaisons between the respectable community and the criminal underworld, living a "precarious existence on

288-404: A receiver , mover , or moving man , is an individual who knowingly buys stolen goods in order to later resell them for profit. The fence acts as a middleman between thieves and the eventual buyers of stolen goods who may not be aware that the goods are stolen. As a verb (e.g. " to fence stolen goods"), the word describes the behaviour of the thief in the transaction with the fence. As

360-514: A review aggregator , reports that 28% of critics gave the film a positive review based on 115 reviews; the average rating is 4.6/10. The site's critics consensus reads, " Takers boasts some gripping set pieces and keeps things moving quickly, but its two-dimensional characters, clichéd script, and brazenly derivative plot make it hard to recommend." On Metacritic , the film holds a weighted average score of 45 out of 100 based on 20 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Today called it "almost

432-628: A common benefit about compounding: nobody was in a better position to do so than thief-takers . Thief-takers grew increasingly notorious in England as a reward was introduced by the Crown for each successfully condemned criminal. Some of them, such as Anthony Dunn, publicly referred to as "pretended Thiefe-taker" in a 1707 document, used their social power as thief-takers as an advantage for receiving. Thief-takers were usually so involved with thieves and gangs of thieves that they could easily condemn them for

504-458: A concern for the government during the mid to late Ming era. The government passed a law in which illegal smugglers who traded with foreigners without the consent of the government would be punished with exile to the border for military service. In areas where military troops were stationed, stealing and selling military property would result in more severe punishment. In the Jiaqing time, a case

576-402: A convoy of two armored trucks, with all the money being carried in the first truck. Dressed as construction workers, the crew hide out underground, while Ghost poses as a police officer, so he can keep an eye out for the trucks. Meanwhile, John is ready to take out Ghost with a sniper rifle from the top of a nearby garage in case the whole thing is a set-up. The crew plan to detonate a blast when

648-485: A disadvantage of trying to sell stolen goods outside a fence's home city directly to buyers is that the fence may not be well-known in the community and thus not likely to be trusted by potential customers whether law-abiding or otherwise. To overcome this, fences often develop clandestine relationships with trusted fences in other locales, thus allowing stolen goods to be easily exchanged in bulk by fences in different cities. For some types of stolen goods, fences disassemble

720-402: A fee a felony of the same importance and punishment as the crime (theft) related to the goods returned (which meant a capital offence in most cases, with raised potential reward for definitive evidence, from £40 to £140). Eventually, the government took direct action against Wild through lawyers, succeeding in condemning and executing him in 1725. There is no registered case of female fences of

792-513: A fence was an option that was not too strenuous, but had the potential to bring in a fair sum of income. Most fences worked within their own town or village. For example, in some satellite areas of the capital, military troops lived within or close to the commoner population and they had the opportunity to hold illegal trades with commoners. In areas like Baoding and Hejian , local peasants and community members not only purchased military livestock such as horses and cattle, but also helped to hide

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864-586: A good little heist movie", praising the plot twists but criticising the characterization. Author Stephen King , in his end-of-the-year Entertainment Weekly column, listed it at #5 of his best films of 2010. He says that "the climax does strain credulity, but the characters feel real & the armored-car heist is the best action sequence in 2010" The film was number one at the box office during its opening weekend, making $ 20,512,304. Takers made its U.S. debut on approximately 2,600 screens at 2,206 locations. According to Box Office Mojo , "The heist thriller tripled

936-595: A good. Itinerant barbers often amassed important sources of information and news as they travelled, and sold significant pieces of information to those who offered money. Often, such information was sold to criminals in search of places to hide or individuals to rob. In this way, itinerant barbers also served the role as a keeper of information that could be sold both to members of the criminal underground and to powerful clients. Fences not only sold stolen goods but were also occasionally involved in human trafficking hostages that bandits had kidnapped. Women and children were

1008-424: A greater risk of the thief being caught. As well, selling stolen goods takes a great deal of time and effort ( transaction costs ), as the thief would have to try to contact a number of potential buyers and show them the merchandise. Some habitual thieves are so well known to police that if the thief were to attempt to sell any used goods , this would quickly draw the attention of law enforcement. The fence disguises

1080-429: A high price, children were sold regardless of their physical appearance or family background. Young boys were often sold as servants or entertainers, while young girls were often sold as prostitutes. As with merchants of honest goods, one of the most significant tools of a fence was their network of connections. As the middlemen between robbers and clients, fences needed to form and maintain widespread connections in both

1152-425: A high-quality item for a low price, in cash, from a stranger at a bar or from the back of a van, there is a higher likelihood that the items may be stolen. On the other hand, if a purchaser buys the same high-quality item for the standard retail price from a used goods store, and obtains a proper receipt, the purchaser may reasonably believe that the item is not stolen (even if, in fact, it is a stolen item). E-fencing

1224-419: A higher level are the "master fences", who do not deal with street-level thieves, but only with other fences. Research on fences shows that they view themselves as entrepreneurs, relying on networking with and patronage by prominent criminals to become successful in their word-of-mouth-based "wheeling and dealing." They occupy the middle ground between the criminal world (thieves, burglars, and shoplifters) and

1296-401: A low profit margin in order to reduce their risks by instantly "washing their hands" of illicitly gotten loot (such as black market goods) and disassociating from the criminal act that procured it. After sales, fences recoup their investment by disguising the stolen nature of the goods (via methods such as repackaging and altering/effacing serial numbers ) and reselling the goods as near to

1368-597: A low sum far below market value for stolen goods to bandits, and resold the goods to earn a profit. Two different Ming Laws, the Da Ming Lü 大明律 and the Da Gao 大诰, drafted by the Hongwu Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang, sentenced fences to different penalties based on the category and value of the products that were stolen. In coastal regions, illegal trading with foreigners, as well as smuggling became

1440-406: A safety layer against effective prosecution. A victim of theft was often willing to pay in order to get their goods back, in order to spare themselve further troubles and/or if the items taken had the potential to reveal unflattering details about their personal affairs. In addition to that, for many centuries, prosecution in England was entirely at the expense (of personal money, time, and effort) of

1512-413: A steady income from her activity. The same governess protects and offers refuge to her affiliates whenever possible, or recruits thieves into small groups, always via middlemen, in order to protect their thieves' identities in case some of them were caught and willing to confess. She is also a main intelligence source and often a direct instigator to theft, such as in a case of fire in a well-off house in

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1584-532: A systematic, algorithmic way. The site was founded in 1998 by Brandon Gray, and was bought in 2008 by IMDb , which itself is owned by Amazon . Brandon Gray began the site on August 7, 1998, making forecasts of the top-10 highest-grossing films in the United States for the following weekend. To compare his forecasts to the actual results, he started posting the weekend grosses and wrote a regular column with box-office analysis. In 1999, he started to post

1656-630: A thief, and eventually taught her the basics of thievery, redirecting Moll to work with other senior thieves. Defoe shows how crucial as well as subtle receiving was in building the whole of crime activity in London. The Governess is officially a pawnbroker, and she uses this legal business to also sell stolen goods. Sometimes, such as in the case of a silver inscribed mug stolen by Moll, she smelts metals, in order to avoid getting caught while re-selling. Along with receiving activity, she actively protects and supports many criminals and thieves in order to secure

1728-450: A three-way Mexican standoff results in which Ghost hits both Gordon and Welles. As Ghost prepares to finish Gordon off, John arrives and shoots him dead. John recognizes Welles as the same cop who was with the little girl. John and Gordon refuse to kill Welles. John and an injured Gordon take the money and drive off, with Gordon's sister Naomi in tow. A gravely wounded Welles manages to call 911 for help on his cell phone. Rotten Tomatoes ,

1800-591: A variety of social backgrounds interacted. Brothels also helped bandits to hide and sell stolen goods because of the special Ming Law that exempted brothels from being held responsible “for the criminal actions of their clients.” Although the government required brothel owners to report any suspicious activity, the lack of government enforcement as well as the motivation of owners to make an extra income from fencing led brothels to become safe houses for bandits and gangs. Pawnshops were also affiliated with fencing stolen goods. The owners or employees of such shops often paid

1872-416: A verdict category of guilty. The 1718 Transportation Act also criminalised returning goods for a fee, which reveals that by then, receiving had already been taken to the next stage: returning goods to their owner, for a fee, instead of selling them in the second-hand market. Thieves could in this way act as go-betweens themselves, but go-betweens could raise some suspicions, whereas relying on receivers added

1944-679: Is an old kind of criminal, historically attested in many countries, and with deep and complex dynamics within society. Receiving was a widespread crime in Modern England and a concern for the English government of that period. It involved many other kinds of activities and crimes, and it saw its peak in the early 18th century with the notorious Jonathan Wild . Receiving is intrinsically connected to theft, as receivers, by definition, buy previously stolen goods in order to make profit out of them later. When organised theft grew in London thanks to

2016-500: Is by their level of involvement in buying and selling stolen goods; for some, fencing is an occasional "sideline" activity, while it is an economic mainstay for others. At the lowest level, a hustler or drug dealer may occasionally accept stolen goods. At the highest level would be a fence whose main criminal income comes from buying and selling stolen items. Two tiers of fences can be distinguished: The lower level of fences are those who directly buy stolen goods from thieves and burglars. At

2088-477: Is demonstrated by the career of Charles Hitchen , who was known as a thief-taker. He bought off the position of Under City Marshal with his wife's money in order to have one of the best positions amongst the thief-takers of the City. However, a vast part of his income came from the receiving activity related to the network of connections with London's underworld. Hitchen controlled this network through his official (that

2160-425: Is the case with the word fence and its derivatives when used in its other common meanings (i.e. as a type of barrier or enclosure, and also as a sport ), the word in this context is derived from the word defence . Among criminals, the fence originated in thieves' slang tracing from the notion of such transactions providing a "defence" against being caught. Thieves who patronise fences are willing to accept

2232-502: Is the sale of items on the Internet that have been obtained illegally. There are some key differences between "e-fencing" and traditional fencing. Both involve fraudulently obtained goods and/or services being bought and sold in transactions involving a minimum of three distinct parties, usually understood to be the thief who stole the goods, the fence who acts as an intermediary, and the final purchaser. With traditional fencing, typically,

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2304-437: Is to say, legal) position as a thief-taker. The synergy between receiving, theft, and corruption, as well as official activities such as thief-taking or pawnbroking was a huge dynamic bond where each element enhanced the others in a vicious circle. The master of this powerful synergy of London underworld was Jonathan Wild , who replaced his previous master, Charles Hitchen, in 1713, and gained control of London's crime and

2376-490: The 1718 Transportation Act , which, together with other measures, made fences main felons and not simply accessories to other felonies. Nonetheless, it was not easy to prove that a dealer knowingly accepted stolen goods, especially without the related theft event being fully cleared out. There are 5,664 proceedings stored in the Old Bailey Online archive where the offence category is receiving. Of these, 1,973 have

2448-515: The Old Bailey Online archive where the offence category is receiving. Of these, 1,858, nearly one-third, have a defendant gender category of female. The growth of the crime of receiving in Early Modern society, combined with the increasing interest of society on reading, led to depictions of the crime in the works of writers such as Daniel Defoe 's Moll Flanders and John Gay 's The Beggar's Opera . The novel Moll Flanders narrates

2520-406: The market price as possible without drawing suspicion. This process often relies on a legal business (such as a pawnshop , flea market , or street vendor ) in order to " launder " the stolen goods by intermixing them with legally-obtained items of the same type. Fencing is illegal in all countries, but legally proving a violation of anti-fencing laws can be difficult. The fence, or receiver,

2592-638: The Friday daily box-office grosses, sourced from Exhibitor Relations, so that they were publicly available online on Saturdays and posted the Sunday weekend estimates on Sundays. Along with the weekend grosses, he was publishing the daily grosses, release schedules, and other charts, such as all-time charts, international box-office charts, genre charts, and actor and director charts. The site gradually expanded to include weekend charts going back to 1982, grosses for older films, an international section expanded to cover

2664-526: The Russian gangsters to rob the truck but doublecrossed them by going early, effectively cutting them out. Ghost gives the Russians the hotel room number, then escapes out the bathroom window, just before the Russians storm the room and attempt to kill the crew. A.J. sacrifices himself to save the others in the ensuing gunfight, and the rest of the crew are able to kill the Russians and flee the building before

2736-429: The actual source of the stolen goods is discovered they can plausibly deny any knowledge of such illegal activity. Thus, while one fence's salvage yard may consist mainly of stolen auto parts, another fence's used goods store might consist mainly of legitimately purchased used goods, with the stolen merchandise acting as a minor, but profitable, sideline. Thieves agree to use fences because their alternatives may present

2808-406: The armored trucks pass overhead, causing the trucks to fall underground. However, a cyclist causes the lead driver to stop short and the explosives are detonated too early. The lead driver radios the police, while armed guards pile out of the rear truck. A gunfight ensues between the robbers in the crater and the guards on the street, until John commandeers the rear truck and rams the lead truck into

2880-415: The crater where the crew cut into it. John and the other robbers pack the cash into bags, and flee through different sewage tunnels which they know to intersect with the subway system. Welles and Hatcher show up on the scene, and, after learning of the robbers' escape through the sewer system, remember a map of the city subway system from the Russian gang hideout, and deduce that they must be escaping through

2952-428: The crew consists of John, A.J., and brothers Jake and Jesse Attica. A former member, Ghost, was caught during a previous robbery five years before. In his absence, Jake began a relationship with Ghost's former girlfriend Lilly, who recently accepted his marriage proposal. After Ghost is released from prison, he reconnects with the crew and proposes a major heist. Only five days from now, $ 25 million will be transported by

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3024-479: The dismissal of provincial commissioner, Zhu Wan, but also eventually “[drove] him to suicide”. It was also essential for fences to maintain a relationship with bandits in order to protect their livelihood. However, it was just as true that bandits needed fences to make a living. As a result, fences often held dominance in their relationship with bandits. Taking advantage of their dominance in their relationships with bandits, fences also cheated bandits by manipulating

3096-456: The easiest to sell and among the most common "objects" the fences sold. Most female hostages were sold to fences and then sold as prostitutes , wives, or concubines. One example of human trafficking comes from Chen Akuei's gang, who abducted a servant girl and sold her to Lin Baimao, who in turn sold her as a wife for thirty pieces of silver. In contrast to women who required beauty to sell for

3168-525: The fence a portion of the spoils. Butchers received stolen animals because owners could no longer recognise their livestock after the animal had been slaughtered. Animals were very valuable commodities within Ming China, and a robber could potentially sustain a living from stealing livestock and selling them to butcher-fences. Although fences usually worked with physical stolen property, fences who also worked as itinerant barbers also sold information as

3240-469: The following day. On October 23, 2019, Box Office Mojo unveiled a dramatic redesign resembling IMDb, and was rebranded as "Box Office Mojo by IMDbPro". The redesign was heavily criticized for being difficult to navigate and moving much of its content behind a paywall . Several features previously provided for free, such as box-office data for franchises, genres, actors, filmmakers, distributors, budgets, and inflation-adjusted figures, were moved to IMDbPro ,

3312-545: The forums were officially closed along with any user accounts, and users were invited to join IMDb's message boards. The IMDb forums were closed on February 20, 2017. In July 2008, the company was purchased by Amazon.com through its subsidiary , IMDb and the Premier Pass features and content later became free. On October 10, 2014, all traffic to Box Office Mojo was redirected to IMDb's box office page, before returning

3384-406: The fringes of respectable society." Fences often worked alongside bandits in a network of criminal accomplices that was essential to ensuring both the safety and the success of fences. The path into the occupation of a fence stemmed, to a large degree, from necessity. As most fences came from the ranks of poorer people, they often took whatever work they could—both legal and illegal. Working as

3456-508: The good and sell the individual parts, because the sale of parts is less risky. For example, a stolen car or bicycle may be disassembled so that the parts can be sold individually. Another tactic used by some fences is to retain stolen items for some time before selling them, which lessens the likelihood that the burglary victims or police will be actively looking for the items in auctions and pawnshops. The prices fences pay thieves typically depend both on norms and on legitimate market rates for

3528-423: The items in question. Vulnerable sellers, such as drug addicts or casual thieves, may receive less than 20% of an item's value. Higher prices, sometimes as high as 50% of an item's value in a legal market, can be commanded by a professional thief, especially one who has managed to remain relatively unknown to police and/or who concentrates on valuable items. Fences may take advantage of thieves by deceiving them about

3600-410: The legitimate world (everyday people who purchase used goods). Some active fences go farther in their business, maintaining longstanding contacts and even teaching thieves how to practice their craft, whether by identifying specific products or by teaching them tools of the trade. The degree to which the purchasers of the stolen goods know or suspect that the items are stolen varies. If a purchaser buys

3672-487: The markets while working, and formed acquaintances and temporary associations for mutual aid and protection. In one example, an owner of a teahouse overheard the conversation between Deng Yawen, a criminal, and others planning a robbery and offered to help to sell the loot for a portion of the spoils. At times, the robbers themselves filled the role of fences, selling to people they met on the road. This may have been preferable for robbers because they would not have to pay

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3744-561: The neighbourhood (more vulnerable to theft because of the sudden emergency), and finally becomes a broker for goods stolen by Moll to a drunken gentleman. In that case, the amount gained is allegedly greater than what she would have gained by standard re-selling in the secondary market. The Governess embodies female social cunning in London's underworld, from Defoe's point of view. She is a typical receiver of her time, and whereas many male receivers used thief-taking as an official business, she relies on pawnbroking. Under traditional Chinese law

3816-482: The only innocent and unwitting party is the final purchaser. On the other hand, e-fencing may describe transactions in which there is direct interaction between the original thief and the final purchaser, while the "intermediary" is an online platform. In e-fencing (unlike traditional fencing) the level of culpability on the part of the intermediary platform may vary. On one hand, the platform's operators may be knowingly or recklessly permitting such activity (for instance in

3888-550: The police arrive. Jake and Jesse return home where Jake finds Lilly's corpse. Also, the safe where they kept their secret stash of money has been cleaned out. The police surround their bar and kill both when they make a suicide charge outside. Gordon and John separate to make their escape, but realize that Ghost intends to take all of their money, which is being held by Scott, a well-connected fence . Ghost sneaks onto Scott's private plane and kills him, taking their laundered money in two suitcases. Gordon and Detective Welles arrive, and

3960-565: The prices they paid bandits for stolen property. This was possible because fences often had an official and legal means of making a living, as well as illegal activities, and could threaten to turn bandits in to the authorities. Aside from simply buying and selling stolen goods, fences often played additional roles in the criminal underground of early China. Inns and teahouses became places for bandits and gangs to gather in order to exchange information and plan for their next crime. Harborers (people who provided safe houses for criminals) often played

4032-425: The prosecutor. Therefore, given the difficulty of actually proving receiving in courts, common people, especially shopkeepers, often preferred compounding, feeling that prosecuting was not worth it. This gave a considerable advantage to receivers. In order to effectively act as go-betweens for compounding, or brokerage, fences needed to personally know thieves or have ways to easily interact and bargain with them for

4104-555: The reward, or use this power to intimidate and command thieves to do their bidding. In exchange for clemency or protection from capture or condemnation, they could have thieves to steal under their command. Indeed, thief-takers could act as direct instigators, supporting their thieves with intelligence or offering them shelter at need (when convenient), and then acting as receivers with the stolen goods. Through parallel occupations , receivers could feed their own business. Confirmation of how thief-taking and receiving were tightly connected

4176-399: The role of a fence as well, in receiving stolen goods from their harboured criminals to sell to other customers. Safe houses also included brothels and opium dens, as well as gambling parlors, and employees or owners of such institutions often functioned as harborers, as well as fences. These safe houses were located in places where there was a high floating population and where people from

4248-492: The same fame of Wild or Hitchen. However, women had active roles in both receiving and theft. Elizabeth Hitchen gave her inheritance money to her husband Charles in order to buy the Under City Marshal office for his plans. Moreover, women could also be active fences. For example, Elizabeth Fisher managed her own receiving business in her husband's alehouse. As of early 2018 a total of 5,664 proceedings were stored in

4320-470: The start of Armored , and it came in only a bit behind last summer's higher-profile The Taking of Pelham 123 . Its initial attendance was also nearly 50 percent greater than similar titles like Dead Presidents , and Street Kings ." Takers was made available on Blu-ray and DVD on January 18, 2011. BET Awards Black Reel Awards California on Location Awards NAACP Image Awards Fence (criminal) A fence , also known as

4392-401: The stations marked on the map. They rush to the nearest station, where they find Jesse, and a chase ensues, during which Jesse hides his bag of money and is cornered. He shoots Detective Hatcher and escapes while Welles stops to aid his partner, who dies from his wound. Jesse reconvenes with the rest of the crew at a hotel room. It is now revealed that Ghost had previously cut the same deal with

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4464-447: The stolen livestock from the military. Local peasants and other members of the community became fences and hid criminal activities from officials, in exchange for goods or money from soldiers. Most fences were not individuals who only bought and sold stolen goods to make a living. The majority of fences had a variety of legitimate occupations, including labourers and peddlers . Such individuals encountered criminals, for example in

4536-411: The stolen nature of the goods, if possible, so that he or she can sell them closer to the market price. Depending on the stolen item, the fence may attempt to remove, deface, or replace serial numbers on the stolen item before reselling it. In some cases, fences will transport the stolen items to a different city to sell them, because this lessens the likelihood that the items will be recognised. However,

4608-475: The support of receivers, the establishment started to fight it with new laws, often aimed at receivers: receiving was acknowledged as the core of property crime. Receiving was not considered as a felony (crime) in common law until 1691, when fences became potential targets of charges as accessories to theft. This meant that in order to judge a suspected receiver, it was necessary to condemn the related thief first. Later laws further focused on receivers, especially

4680-554: The title of "thief-taker general". His power was due to his ruthless thief-taking and intimidation activities as well as a complex web of intelligence also built around the diffusion of newspapers. However, overly bold receiving was his undoing, as it provoked the English government to promote further laws against receiving and related activities, such as the Transportation Act in 1718, also known as "Jonathan Wild Act", and its extension in 1720, which made returning goods for

4752-419: The value of items and the relevant market conditions. For example, a fence may falsely tell a petty thief that the market for the type of good which the thief is selling is flooded with this type of merchandise, to justify paying out a lower price. There are different types of fences. One way to categorise fences is by the type of good in which they trade, such as jewels, power tools, or electronics. Another way

4824-449: The weekly box office of 50 countries, international release schedules, as well as box office results from up to 107 countries. In 2002, Gray partnered with Sean Saulsbury, and grew the site to nearly two million readers. In 2003, a subscription model was introduced (Premier Pass) to limit certain data and features to subscribers. From 2002 to 2011, Box Office Mojo had forums, which had more than 16,500 registered users. On November 2, 2011,

4896-485: The whole life of its protagonist (Moll Flanders), but a relevant part of it is about her becoming a master thief. Moll's activity as a thief relied on the protection and support of her governess, who also acted as a receiver for the goods stolen by her affiliates. She is the one who buys Moll's stolen goods the first time, as Moll narrates "I was now at a loss for a market for my goods... At last I resolved to go to my old governess." The governess character sealed Moll's fate as

4968-445: The “polite” society and among criminals. There were cases in which members of “well-respected” society became receivers and harbourers. They not only helped bandits to sell the stolen goods but also acted as agents of the bandits in collecting protection money from local merchants and residents. These "part-time" fences with high social status used their connection with bandits to help themselves gain social capital as well as wealth. It

5040-630: Was arrested and found guilty of stealing and selling government salt was put to death. Fencing is often conducted through legal businesses. Some fences maintain a legitimate-seeming "front" through which they can sell stolen merchandise. Depending on the type of stolen merchandise a fence deals in, "front" businesses might be discount stores, used goods stores, coin and gem stores, auction houses , flea markets , or auto salvage yards. The degree of illicit activity in each "front" business differs from fence to fence. Fences will often attempt to mix stolen goods with legitimately-obtained merchandise, so that if

5112-492: Was important for fences to maintain a positive relationship with their customers, especially their richer gentry clients. When some members of the local elites joined the ranks of fences, they not only protected bandits to protect their own business interests, but they actively took down any potential threats to their illegal profiting, even government officials . In the Zhejiang Province , local elites not only caused

5184-415: Was recorded of a robber stealing and selling military horses. The emperor himself gave orders that the thieves who had stolen the horses and the people who had helped to sell the horses would be put on a cangue and sent to labour in a border military camp. In salt mines, the penalty for workers who stole and/or sold salt was the most severe. Because of the enormous value of salt in Ming China, anyone who

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