Con Man Page #3

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Look at you.

Trying to look like you.

I should be so lucky.

Damn! Come here, I want to show

you something. Watch your step.

What... What happened

to this place?

Well, this one

was a flood.

Hard to imagine you could

do anything with this, huh?

It smells like the inside

of a Halloween costume.

This is called

restoration work.

Fires, floods...

The insurance companies

contract it out

to restore it

and make it new again.

Big money. Big money.

This could be your future.

Come on. I want to

show you something.

Wow. This is amazing.

Mmm-hmm.

Before and after. Not bad

for three weeks' work, huh?

Look. Uncle Joe, I appreciate

you bringing me out here,

but I'm just

a carpet cleaner.

Yeah. So was I

when I started 35 years ago.

You know, all the carpet

companies out there...

All your competitors,

they all advertise

for one big thing

that you don't.

Emergency water damage

restoration.

Water heater

busts in the house,

water floods

the carpets everywhere.

The first people called

are the carpet cleaners

who come in

and extract the water.

Bingo! And you make millions.

If you're ever interested in that

kinda thing, just let me know.

I'll help you

find some work.

Are you insane?

You can't open

another office.

Barry, you think that I don't know

that you're kiting checks again?

This company is hanging on

by a thread.

Relax.

And we both know...

Relax! Okay? Everybody cheats a

little bit. It's not a big deal.

It's a big deal.

It is a big deal.

It's not.

It's not a big deal!

Okay? I had to expand to generate

more cash to catch up on my...

Barry, you can't run one

office on... Do not...

Do not raise your...

Barry!

Do not raise

your voice at me.

It's settled. All right?

I already got the location

picked out.

Look, everybody thinks I'm

some kind of hotshot now, man.

Barry Minkow,

the young entrepreneur.

I gotta keep that going.

Mike, it's who I am now.

With the debts and the divorce,

I really need the extra income.

Great. Happy to help.

Now, I need you to

mock up a few documents

for a bloated insurance

company. So, don't feel bad.

Feeling bad was not

something I was factoring in.

You do have the cash, right?

You're sure this was

one of your competitors?

Yeah.

What did they steal?

Four Crowell Triple Vac

steam cleaners.

Yeah, but Barry,

even at 1,500 a piece,

that doesn't equal $12,000.

Water damage.

"Water damage"?

Yeah.

See, when they broke in,

they set off the sprinklers,

which caused water damage.

These guys are trying to

put me out of business!

But we fixed it.

Because that's what we do.

It's expensive.

Really?

Yeah, it's called

"restoration work."

In fact, ZZZZ Best is going to

be awarded out

more restoration jobs

from other big companies

as early as next week

and that...

That's where the real

growth opportunities are

in the carpet-cleaning

industry.

I think a little toast is in

order for the man of the hour.

Dad, come on.

No, no, no.

Here's to Barry

on your 18th birthday.

You're an adult,

well, legally anyway.

Now, you can get married,

even join the army

with or without our

permission. To my son, Barry...

I am sorry to interrupt,

but you know how it is when

your father tries to be funny.

Right...

But I would like to say something.

I'd like to toast you, Barry.

I am so proud

of your success.

Thank you, Mom.

Cheers.

To ZZZZ Best, son.

Cheers, guys.

Mazel tov.

And so,

as we look forward

to the excitement

of new lives,

we, the fresh-faced class...

Man, I feel like

I don't even know you anymore.

Come on.

Yeah you do, Mikey.

Same old Barry. I'm just a

regular business now, that's all.

But like Icarus,

who flew too high to the sun,

we need to keep watch,

to keep level and not let the

temptations of our new freedom

be the end of us.

Come on.

Who doesn't cheat

on their taxes

or inflate

an insurance claim?

Can we just enjoy graduation?

I applaud you fellow students

on this day of rebirth...

The answer is, everyone.

And nobody gets hurt,

all right?

So, don't come at me with

that self-righteous attitude.

In fact, I think I deserve

a little thanks.

Really. You're running

flush now because of me.

Congratulations to

the class of 1984!

Damn it.

Hey,

it's your favorite uncle.

Hey, Uncle Joe.

How are you?

I'm good, kid. Listen.

I'm out there in the business

community and I'm hearing things.

Like you're expanding too fast and

you can't possibly be profitable.

Uncle Joe,

that's just jealous people

using their stories as an

excuse for their mediocrity.

Yeah, yeah. I'm hearing that, too. See?

Okay. All right.

But be careful.

You have to be a little bit of

a thief in business, I know that.

But you don't want

to become a thief.

Then you're not in business

anymore, you're just a crook.

There's a project

over in Tarzana

and I have

an interested buyer.

He won't close on the sale

until I fix a rip in the carpet.

I'll get someone

right on it.

No, no. He wants you.

He wants to meet the

millionaire kid success story.

Just be careful. I hear this

guy's connected. A real Mafioso.

I mean it.

I read about you in

the Examiner, didn't I?

Yeah, yeah.

Joe says you're a pro.

That's my Uncle Joe.

How do you do that, Barry?

Pull down a profit like that?

Cleaning carpet?

I never heard of that.

Well, Jack, the real money,

it's not in the carpet cleaning.

It's in these things

called restoration jobs.

Oh, yeah?

Like cleaning up

after an old fire?

Yeah. Yeah, yeah.

Um, the jobs,

they come in through...

Through these

insurance adjusters.

My company, ZZZZ Best,

we got, like...

We got three of these jobs

lined up right now.

But I plan on expanding,

because each job contract

is worth about 25 grand.

That must be nice.

Yeah, yeah.

It's really nice.

You know, you have

these huge buildings

with these complex

sprinkler systems

and they go off inadvertently,

causing floods.

You know,

and it's expensive to fix.

If I had the money, there's

no limit to what I could do.

How much?

A hundred grand.

A hundred grand?

Just for clean

No, no.

It's much more than that.

It's extracting the water,

dehumidifying the area,

you know, padding and tack

strips, mold treatment.

You see, all this requires

money, lots of money,

and these worthless

insurance companies,

they're notoriously slow

for these large payouts.

And see, that's what sets

me apart from my competition.

Look, Jack,

how many carpet cleaners

do you know in this business

that are well

How much are you

gonna pull down right now?

With these restorations?

These three?

Eighty grand. Profit.

It's good. So give me proof.

Proof?

Yeah, proof of

the jobs, huh?

A little accountability.

You know?

I mean, I'll come in right

now. Fifty grand cash.

You need money,

I'll raise money, you know.

I'll talk to friends.

It's all numbers, Barry.

"Numbers"?

It's just numbers.

Yeah, yeah, numbers.

It's all numbers.

We come in,

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