There are many places in the U.S. that are centers of something or other.
Some centers are praise-worthy others are condemned.
In many places the Courthouse is the center of the local corruption and intrigue. Typically, the bank down the block or across the street from the Courthouse is owned and operated by the judges, commissioners, regulators, and inspectors in the Courthouse. Equipped with loads of facts, some find out life can be simple. There are phantasies and fables about this monkey business. To bribe a judge, you pass him a bag of money in an alley at midnight.