The Corleone Family keeps a list of people they bribe—especially police, lawyers, politicians, and other individuals with power and influence—in exchange for information and special treatment. They refer to this bribe list as their “payroll.”
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Payroll Term Timeline in The Godfather
The timeline below shows where the term Payroll appears in The Godfather. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 2
...the Don a 50 percent stake in the operation if Don Corleone will share his “payroll” contacts in politics and law enforcement to use as cover for drug distribution. Don Corleone...
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...the scene. Shortly after the shooting. Detective John Phillips, a cop on the Corleone Family payroll, informs Sonny about the shooting. Enraged, Sonny suspects Sollozzo, but knows the Turk must have...
(full context)
