American Tax Officer

"If your tax bureau is so capable, then don't expect to find our police station and city hall's various departments to cooperate with you on tax matters from now on!"

Hearing such a statement, David's anger flared up as well.

He was already displeased with Gray coming to intercede on Dieter's behalf, and now he was directly threatening their tax work.

Did this guy not know what happened to the last person who threatened them from the CIA?

With that thought, David picked up the phone on the desk, got through, and said, "Come to my office!"

Gray, on the other side, was instantly bewildered. What did this mean?

But before he could figure it out, Bucky soon pushed the door open and asked David, "Chief Tax Officer, did you call for me?"

David, devoid of emotion, said, "Escort Deputy Mayor Gray to our detention room!"

Upon hearing this, Bucky was instantly stunned.

Gray, who was seated across from him, looked equally dumbfounded.

As the Deputy Mayor of Las Vegas, he might not have been able to cover the sky with one hand here, but he was still a man of high status and power, wasn't he?

Whenever he visited various departments, didn't they all venerate him like an ancestor?

But now, upon arriving at the tax bureau, not only did they show him a cold face, but they were actually about to throw him into the detention room?

This was preposterous!

After a good while, Gray finally reacted, stood up, pointed at David, and bellowed furiously, "David, don't think you can do whatever you want just because you're the Chief Tax Officer. I tell you, I am the Deputy Mayor of Las Vegas. If you dare to detain me with abuse of power, the Lake District Sub-Bureau Branch will not be able to stand here any longer!"

David sneered in disdain and replied, "Deputy Mayor Gray, do you really think our tax bureau would arrest someone without just cause?"

"Then isn't what you're trying to do to me right now an abuse of power?"

Gray still looked ferocious, as if he wanted to devour David on the spot.

David ignored his gaze and spoke slowly, "On the 3rd of last month, you accepted fifty thousand US dollars. Afterward, through irregular approval procedures, you awarded a road project in the Lake District to the Buanni Road Engineering Group, is that correct?"

"How about it? Should I invite the CEO of this group and the relevant person in charge to come and have a talk, to explain this matter in detail?"

The formerly intimidating Gray felt as if he was struck by a heavy hammer upon hearing this, suddenly finding it difficult to breathe.

After a long time, he regained his composure and attempted to argue back in feigned anger, "What irregular means, what Buanni Road Engineering Group? I have no idea what you're talking about. Don't make baseless slander. The city hall would never accept bribes for personal gain!"

"Alright, since you say it's baseless slander, then let's not talk about this case!"

"On December 7th, your city hall was going to purchase a batch of equipment, and the Dingbang Equipment Company from the Lake District approached you, giving you twenty thousand US dollars. This can't be slander, can it?"

At these words, Gray's chest felt as if it had been hit by another hammer, and if one were to observe carefully, they would even notice his legs trembling.

"If you still say this is slander, that's fine too!"

"Lynch Aldridge, who deals in antiques in the Lake District, you must be familiar with him, right?"

"He has already paid taxes to our tax bureau, which I believe you know. And you accepted one hundred thousand US dollars from him on the 28th of last month for protection money. I think he probably hasn't forgotten yet. Shall we invite him over to have a talk with you?"

The mention of Lynch's name effectively shattered Gray's psychological defenses.

Lynch had approached him when the tax bureau started investigating, hoping he could mediate on his behalf.

But knowing how troublesome the tax bureau was and that Lynch wasn't significant enough for him to go out on a limb, he outright refused.

As a result, Lynch paid his taxes and got on the records.

If the tax bureau reached out to Lynch, asking him to spill the beans about their mutual benefits, it was needless to think; Lynch would surely spill the truth!

Then, even with eight mouths, he, the Deputy Mayor, would have a hard time clearing his name!

"As a public official, you sought personal gain amounting to over a hundred thousand dollars this month alone, despite being fully aware of the new tax laws, yet failed to proactively report to our tax bureau. Now, we are detaining you, what is the problem? Can this still be considered abuse of power on our part?"

This response from David momentarily sobered up the frenzied Gray.

No matter how much he thought about it, he couldn't figure out when the tax bureau had investigated him so thoroughly.

But it seemed pointless to consider this now.

At this moment, he deeply regretted his actions.

He regretted not outright refusing when Senator Angstorm called and asked him to step in; he shouldn't have waded into these muddy waters.

As the Deputy Mayor, even if the tax bureau had already gotten hold of so much tax evasion information on him, considering the city hall's relationship, they would likely have avoided creating such a deadlock between the two parties.

But now, he had not only made it impossible for himself to save face, but once he was taken into the tax bureau's detention room, the city hall would also be disgraced.