Shakedown by force, threats and intimidation:
The Mafia would usually give small business owners "
the shakedown," in which if the owner did not pay protection money (or "tribute") to the Mafia Don, their store would mysteriously be firebombed by
vandals (read: Mafia thugs) who presumably would have been deterred if the owner had opted to partake in the Mafia protection plan.
Shakedown by abuse of power:
City councils are notorious for shakedowns by abuse of power. Suppose you bought a house for an inflated price of $50000, before property values started declining. The state wants to build a highway, and decides that your house is in the way. You don't want to move, but they offer you $25000 to pack up and leave. If you don't leave, the council will employ the
eminent domain laws, which will simply *force* you to leave and *force* you to accept a
measly compensation of $15000 (fair market value) for your property. While such practice is actually legal, it's still a
shakedown, because if you don't agree to their initial unreasonable demands, you're going to be even worse off as a consequence--just like debating whether you want to drown in your own piss, or someone else's.