How we cite our quotes: All quotations are from The Sting.
Quote #1
HENRY GONDORFF: Yeh, kid, it really stunk. No sense in bein' a grifter if it's the same as bein' a citizen.
Henry Gondorff had chosen the life of a criminal specifically because it's different from the life of an ordinary citizen. That's why he is so down on conmen who are so organized that they run their operations like regular businesses. For Henry, there's no thrill in conning if you can't be an exciting criminal.
Quote #2
POLK: I spent a lotta time in dumps like this, eatin' Gondorff's dust while the bunco squad gets rich tippin' him off. But it's not gonna happen this time. We're not even gonna let the police know we're here.
Polk (a.k.a. Hickey) knows full well that a lot of local cops are just as criminal as the conmen they're trying to catch. And he knows for a fact that Lt. Snyder is one of these cops, which is why he puts him on the spot when he talks about cops working directly with conmen in exchange for a cut of their profits.
Quote #3
JOHNNY HOOKER: That stuff I gave him was counterfeit. They'll pinch him the first place he tries to spend it.
Hooker is a professional criminal who isn't afraid of the law at all. After all, how else do we explain the fact that he will casually pass a thousand dollars in counterfeit bills to a working cop?