While in Washington, D.C. on business, the FBI approaches Mitch again. The FBI reveals that the firm is a white collar front for the Morolto crime family of Chicago. The firm's founder, Anthony Bendini, was the son-in-law of old man Morolto. He founded the firm in 1944, and for almost half a century, the firm has lured young lawyers from humble backgrounds with the promise of prestige and financial security. Although Mitch's work so far has been legitimate, the partners and senior associates are deeply immersed in a massive tax fraud and money laundering operation that accounts for as much as 75 percent of the firm's business. By the time members of the firm become aware of its true nature, they cannot leave. No lawyer has escaped the firm alive; the five who tried were killed to keep them from talking. Kozinski and Hodge were actually in contact with the FBI at the time of their murders.