~*Power Structure in Eidolon City*~

Submitted by mods on Sun, 06/28/2009 - 13:47.

Power play in the City is always in flux. There are a number of powerful ‘groups’ within the city – some public and highly organised, others more secretive, or less obvious. Power plays are also in flux within those groups – it is always said of Eidolon City that people climb the ladder, but once you reach the top, there’s nowhere to go than down. Nobody seems to stay at the top for long. Not without looking constantly over their shoulders.

Generally speaking, power within the city is separated out into the following groups:-

~*Eidolon City Police Department*~
The ECPD seems to be locked in a permanent struggle, good against evil. The problem is, it’s not always clear which side they’re on. Of course, there are good cops in the department, but when counted against the corrupt ones in the employ of the various criminal factions; the ones willing to walk over everyone in a struggle to climb the ladder; and the cops that are just out for what they can get their hands on, the good guys seem to be in a minority. It is definitely hard to walk the straight and narrow.

~*The DiGiovanni Group*~
Structure of the DiGovanni and Associates Also see This FAQ

The DiGiovanni Group is the oldest organised crime syndicate within the city. As long as anyone can remember, the DiGiovanni family has held the reins of power over Eidolon City's illicit side. Although the group is named after the family which founded it - the DiGiovanni family - the extent of the group has grown to encompass a number of different families in the city. Each family within the group has its own focus and area of control.

They're numerous, greater than the police in headcount, though only a third of their total numbers are actual DiGiovanni. The rest are smaller houses and families that have been assimilated over the years through a mixture of violence and bargaining, giving them a finger in every proverbial pie. The proper DiGiovanni family members live a life of luxury and comfort, by and large, conducting themselves as upstanding members of the community.

Whilst everyone whispers of the DG, and of their control in the city, very little has ever been proven. Officially, the families within the DG are rich, influential and usually also run legitimate businesses. To get on in the DG, you have to be a member of one of the families - they do not trust or take kindly to ‘hired help’.

The main rivals of the DG are the Konovich Syndicate and in the last year or so what had previously been a quiet rivalry is turning into all out war.

The affiliate families within the DG are as follows:-

DiGiovanni
Their influence is enmeshed heavily with the local police and government, and it's said that they own half the property in town. And where the DiGiovanni don't hold direct influence, they have endless watchers. From the church to the schools to the hospital, even the garbage men, someone is always willing to tell a DiGiovanni agent what they know.

Giocomo
One of the subsets of the DiGiovanni, the Giacomo are nonetheless an old and established family. Their primary dominion is handling the running of all numbers for sporting wagers, and they handle a fair amount of the casino work that happens within the Drake Hotel.

Bartellucci
The Barteluccis are, in the grand history of the city, relatively new to the fold. As much as twenty years ago they were rivals to the DiGiovanni, earning a fortune on bootlegged alcohol. It was rumored that the Barteluccis were the ones who performed the final robbery at the old bank building, though none outside their ranks know for sure. What is known about them is that roughly fifteen years ago, they were assimilated into the DiGiovanni after a protracted gangland struggle. They now handle the bulk of the business done through the syndicate's dock and waterfront holdings.

Hagel
The Hagels aren't technically mafia, though they are owned body and soul by the DiGiovanni. A small clan of local Jewish citizens, the Hagels are accountants to the DiGiovanni, corrupt city councilmen who help push the mob agenda, and one loyal chief of medicine at Eidolon General. They are generally viewed with contempt by the proper family members, but are also known as a vital part of the syndicate.

Walker
The Walkers are old money, Eidolon City money. Blood money. The family is a landmark in the city history; there were Walkers in the first settlers of Eidolon, after all. They've been mayors and judges, though not in many a year now. These days the Walkers serve two purposes. Firstly, they're figureheads. When a new mob-front business opens, when an initiative needs public support, a Walker is there to smile for the press, to talk about how their forebears would be proud of this city.

Second, and more sinisterly, they are the inquisitors. When a Konovich agent needs to spill his secret, he turns up in a lavish room of the Drake Hotel where a Walker can make him talk. They specialize in torture and the disappearance of bodies for when cement shoes just won't do. The one fact that makes the other families fear the Walkers is how they continue on. The family turned incestuous decades ago, meaning that what true Walkers there are today (roughly twenty) are sterile and fairly cracked. The younger members? Each and every one of them is the child of an enemy, an orphan taken in by the twisted higher branches of the family, raised to believe they're Walkers as well and to keep the tradition going (Note: the Walkers never take in siblings, just one from an enemy family). The incestuous habits are not encouraged or even spoken of among the younger adoptees in the family, only the elder Walkers are aware of this dirty little secret.

~*The Konovich Syndicate*~
Structure of the Konovich Syndicate Also see This FAQ

The Konovich Syndicate are the relative new boys in town when it comes to the criminal underground. A few members of the Konovich family were prescient enough to recognize the onset of trouble and struck east from Russia to find their fortunes, quickly gaining a reputation for chilling feats of brutality. Arriving in the city, they integrated into their rank various other small criminal groups and ‘independent contractors’. Today, they are the second most powerful mafia in the city, and they have their eye very firmly on the top. They have, within the past year or so, declared what is tantamount to all out war on the DiGiovanni Group.

It is not necessary to have any blood ties to join any group within the KS. The Syndicate works very much on a meritocracy basis and rewards strength and ability above family name. The Syndicate is, however, broken down into identifiable groups:-

Konovich
The Konovich members are known primarily as ruthless killers willing to take any job, and it was only after they'd taken several that the DiGiovanni realized they'd financed their now-adversaries enough to allow them to take root. As well as being killers-for-hire, members of this group take on general management of the Syndicate, controlling the direction and power plays of the organisation.

Cusick
Coming to prominence during the years of prohibition, the Cusick group founded their powerbase in speakeasies and gin running. Those days may have now passed, but there still is nobody in town with as many boltholes and ‘hidden assets’. With the legalisation of alcohol, the group formally went legit, and now run the Kitten Club. This was just a front, however, and in the underground, they are wider known for the provision of women and carnal pleasures - many of which are provided via the Jade Lotus.

The Jade Lotus
A full headcount of the Lotus nets just over thirty men, but their small numbers have never bothered them. White people in Eidolon City seem to have a problem telling one Asian apart from another. Members of the Lotus come from all across Asia, though newer conscripts come from the small-but-busy Chinatown within Eidolon. Their roots are originally Cambodian, and whilst they had a foothold in Eidolon City prior to the arrival of the original Konovich, they were quickly integrated and have actually enjoyed an increase in power since, enjoying their relationship with the Syndicate. They handle some degree of slaving, but their main prospects are management and extortion of their own ethnicities' neighborhoods, as well as a small wedge of the waterfront they maintain for their own 'shipping' purposes. The DiGiovanni may claim that the Chinese laundromat down the street isn't worth extorting, but in truth they just don't know how many Lotus agents may be waiting if they try.

O’Malley
The O'Malleys aren't the power in the city now that they once were. Whilst they had been gaining in power as a group under the direction of the Syndicate, they now stand only as a lesson to all: to the fact that if you go after the wrong goal, even the powerful can be taken down.

The wrong goal in this instance was Babylon - a large and successful whorehouse with ties to neither major mob group. Both the KS and the DG wanted it, the O’Malleys successfully took it over, apparently killing the former owner. Unfortunately ‘apparently’ wasn’t good enough. She survived and orchestrated the fall of the entire O’Malley chapter of the Syndicate. The O’Malleys are now scattered and the only members still alive are left picking up the scraps of what they had once been.

~*The Eidolon City Echo*~
The Eidolon City Echo is the most widely read publication in the city. It’s known for being cutting edge, over the top, and often has sensational stories. It’s always on the look out for that next juicy tidbit to print, and loves go getter investigative journalists. It’s also, unfortunately, rife with corruption just like the city it writes about. There are members of the mafia on the payroll that ensure certain details never see the light of day, as well as ties to local government that ensure some secrets stay buried.

However everything else is free game, and if the price they demand isn’t paid? They’ll see you in the funny pages.

~*The Mayor’s Office*~
The Mayor’s office is a mixture of corrupt politicians, and those struggling to clean up the city. It’s an environment of intrigue, with people playing both sides of the fence. No one’s sure who might be on who’s payroll, and who knows what. People come and go often, always in and out in the middle of the hub of the city’s power.

~*The Justice Department*~
From the down-at-heel Public Defender’s Office, to the often self-righteous Attorney General’s office, the Justice Department takes all sorts. Of course, the private attorneys are in and out, along with their cuban cigars and designer suits. overseeing all of it are the Judges - but it’s often less clear who decides their verdicts.

~*The Ravenwoods*~
The Ravenwoods have been in Eidolon City for generations and it was with the sudden growth of major cities in the mid-1800s that the family got in on the action, mostly in part to help develop Eidolon City so it could be a competitive economy. It was an undeniable success. There are very few families in the city that have not benefitted from the Mill, be it from jobs to feed their families, the apartments they live in, the businesses they work at, or the money the Ravenwood family donates to charity to benefit the city poor.

As the mob began to get a bigger foothold in the city, an agreement was made that the DiGiovanni would leave Ravenwood Mills alone. The Industrial Revolution was starting to grip the world. Everyone needed steel.

As of now, Ravenwood Steel Mills have been their own entity for a long time and the family a background presence that quietly pushes the economy forward with job creation.

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