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[WB] Haven City: A Gangster's Paradise

Joined
May 27, 2020
I am updating and rearranging my RT, and as part of that I'm moving a large amount of the world-building I've done for it to here and a Journal as I consider how I want to have it all organized moving forward. I would love for feedback on the structure of the world, and how it's presented at the moment, as well as areas you think I could expand the world of Hazcen City and the state around it. Here's what I have so far.

OUR SETTING: Haven City is the largest city in the state of Jefferson, which exists between Oregon and California. On the outside Haven City is a fairly normal West Coast American city. It has a port that sees millions, if not billions, of dollars worth of business every year. In many ways Haven City is a lot like Star City in Arrow, a nice enough city, nominally wealthy, but on the inside something is rotten and one doesn't have to look too far to see that this metropolis has a dark underbelly. Approximately twenty years ago (depending on what age we have my MC be) the city was embroiled in a bloody gang war. Central to this gang war was 13th Street, which serves as a crossroads of sorts to the ghettos of the city. White, black, Latinx, Asian- you can find a little bit of everything on 13th Street.

For those people who are map and history nerds Haven City roughly coincides with Port Orford, Oregon and the location and name for the state come from the original Jefferson State Movement the fictional state would basically be where the real life counties of Curry, Josephine, Jackson, Klamath and Lake (Oregon) and Del Norte, Siskiyou, and Modoc (California) Thanks to @LadyVoodoo for this great map!

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The natural harbor that would become Haven City Bay, was originally settled by a branch of the Tututni , also called Rogue River Indians. The bay was discovered by Spanish sailors and explorers during the mid 1500's when they took shelter in the natural harbor from a storm and named it "El Asilo del Asalto" a bit of a poetic name that was eventually mistranslated in English to Storm Haven, which over time turned into Haven City. Until the English came the port was one of the northernmost points on European maps. Captain George Vancouver in the 1790's, and other fur traders, including Jedediah Smith in 1829. Smith would return in the mid-1830's to set up a Fort that would be used for fur trading. (historically Smith died in 1831, that didn't happen here I like AH.)

In 1849, following the acquisition of California, Washington took off the top area of California and the bottom area of the Oregon Territory and formed the Jefferson Territory. Jedediah Strong Smith was appointed the first territorial governor and he set about building the small town around Fort Rogue into a true and incorporated city. Sandwiched between California with its Gold Rush and Oregon with the Willamette Valley Jefferson grew slower, but it caught those inbetween. When the Territory became a state in 1859 along with Oregon Smith was elected the first state governor as well. Haven City and Jeffersonia had their own gold rushes in the fifties. Haven City received a large amount of immigration from China in the 1840's and 50's, and the city leadership passed their first "Oriental Law" segregating the Asian community of the city to one specific part of town regardless of place of origin. By the 1860's they made up a large part of the city's population, Funshan Hong was one of the founding leaders of the community.

The arrival of gold miners and settlers led to tensions between the white settlers and the Native Americans. Small pox outbreaks, hunting 'accidents' , land disagreements, and other conflicts eventually led to a short-lived war between the Indians of the Rogue River Valley. Despite Governor Smith's best attempts, peace could not be arranged until after much loss of life. The Bureau of Indian Affairs was eventually able to negotiate a treaty, forcing almost all natives in the state to live in one of the three nearby reservations. Table Rock Indian Reservation resides in Jefferson County, approximately 90 miles from Haven City on the Route 91 Highway.

Haven City developed as a multi-ethnic city almost from the beginning. Latino vaqueros were some of the first settlers in the area that became Haven City. Many German and Swedish immigrants came to the region with word of gold. The harbor provided a safe refuge for sailors in the Pacific, especially the Pacific Whaling Fleet. As Haven City began to grow a reputation began to spread that it was a place where men who enjoyed rough trades made their homes. With the opening of Japan, settlers from that country began to move into the area, as well as immigrants from the Kingdom of Korea. The racist city council of the time segregated them all in the Chinatown beside the port which had a reputation for prostitution, human trafficking, gambling and drugs. The coming of the railroad in the 1880's brought with it new growth, Jeffersonia quickly overtook Haven City in population and became the state capital. Along with the railroad there came an influx of African-American workers.

With the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 the influx from Asia in general decreased greatly, though the population and influence of the Asian community on Haven City continued to grow as people from Korea and Japan filled in the gaps. There was also a large Italian immigration boom during the end of the 19th century. Race riots and the mines going dry created a large amount of change in the area during the 1910's, but Prohibition created a large economic boom for the city as they were able to smuggle alcohol easily from Canada. This was also the beginning of what would become the Di Capri Mafia. At first the Italian Mafia and the Hong Triad worked together well, but that friendship would eventually sour when Prohibition ended and the Di Capri family expanded their criminal enterprises.

In the 1940's the Oak Hills area of Haven City, (where 13th Street is) had a reputation for being a relatively 'nice' community, which if you know anything about 1940's people think made a nice neighborhood in a city you know exactly where this is going. E.O. 9066 forced the Japanese and Japanese-American population of Haven City from their homes with little property on their backs. What they left behind was quickly stolen and sold to others, homes reclaimed, and in many cases torn down and redeveloped. When the former residents returned to try to reclaim their homes they were forced to move elsewhere, the nearest place where many could afford houses near to where they used to live was 13th Street and the rest of Oak Hills. This, combined with the usual white flight of the 1950's and 60's changed the face of the city almost overnight.
BACKSTORY: Sick and tired of seeing his home turned into a war zone Jon Gayle started to build a crew to keep blood off of 13th Street, this crew would eventually come to be named the 13th Street Regulators. One of the more notable members, the Luca Brasi to Gayle's Vito Corleone, was John Jackson infamous for running guns for the Regs and responding to a hit on Gayle by rampaging through the streets leaving a trail of carnage in his wake. Eventually John was killed and Gayle was able to carve out peace and territory around 13th Street. John Jackson was survived by his wife Kate and his son Jacob (MC). For the past twenty(ish) years 13th Street has known (relative) peace. Things are beginning to change though, depending on the ages we pick Gayle can either be under investigation, under arrest, on trial or in prison causing shake-ups in the gang and on the street.

ORGANIZED CRIME IN HAVEN CITY: Haven City is just like any city in the world in that it has an organized crime presence. Some of the criminal enterprise in the city has roots going back to the city's founding following the '49 Gold Rush. These organizations all have complicated relationships to each other, and I'm sure I'll be editing this section more than most.

13TH Street Regulators: Unique among the criminal enterprises based in Haven City, the 13th Regulators,or the "Regs" for short have no major ethnic component and take in members of all races and ethnic backgrounds. The primary qualifier for membership is being from 13th Street or the area around. They have branched off to other cities where there are "offshoots" which typically keep the Regulator name but change the location. Criminal activities: illegal gambling, extortion, loan sharking, arms and drug smuggling, prostitution, assault, robbery, murder notably Joan Gayle, wife of the gang founder, owns and operates the escort service/modeling and porn studio Phantasies where the girls allegedly also work as prostitutes. Current Leader: John Gayle, Jacob Jackson Allies: Di Capri Family, Reaper's Own Rivals: Nords Colors: blue, red and white. symbol is a 13 colored in red with thirteen white stars.

Nords: A white supremacist gang based out of Pinesend. Has connections to the organized money in the suburbs. Held responsible for the death of John Jackson. Rivals: 13th Street Regs, 91'er's Colors: Red and black, symbol is a skull with an 88 on it. Leader: Ewell Darby

Vagos: A Latinx gang, formerly controlled 13th Street. Currently based out of Libertad, to the South of 13th Street. Criminal Activity: marijuana and cocaine dealing, street racing Allies: 91'er's, the Cartel Colors: Orange Leader: Caesar Reyes

91'er's: An African-American street gang. controls territory to the north of Route 91 (the main highway in the city that goes east-west.)Did you know that Oregon used to be a 'whites only' state? Well a lot of those black people who couldn't get their forty acres and a mule in the Beaver State made their home in Jefferson. Like a lot of cities, when it came time to modernize their roads and highways,city council found it most profitable to use the roads as an excuse to tear down the black-owned communities of Haven City. Haven City has always had one or more African-American gangs, and the latest dominant iteration was formed in the late 80's and took the highway that destroyed their parents' homes. Criminal Activities: prostitution, crack and heroin dealing, theft and chop shopping. Allies: Vagos Colors: Purple Leader: Khalil 'King' Smith

Reaper's Own: A mostly white biker gang that mostly controls turf in the areas outside of Haven City. Makes most of their money through hijacking shipments or riding protection. Allies: 13th Street Regs, 91'er's Rivals: Vagos, Nords, AZ Boyz Colors: Green, camo Leader: Walker Reid

No Label Gang: An Asian street gang that controls territory to the west of 13th Street, largely Chinese they work as deniable assets for the Triads and the Hong Family. Allies: Triad, Rivals: Reaper's Own Colors: Yellow and black

Di Capri Family: The leading family of the Italian Mafia that exists in the city. Has strong connections in politics and abroad. Uses various street gangs as deniable assets and to do work that isn't for made men. Takes a cut of much of the action done in the city. Rivals: The Triad Leader:Alphonse 'Boss Al' Di Capri

Triad/Hong Family: The Triads have been part of Haven City for going on two hundred years. They came over with the first Chinese immigrants fleeing the violence in Qing China in the 1800's. The Hong family has been their head for all those years. Because of racist laws all of Haven City's Asian population was pushed into one China town and the Triad took responsibility for them. After WWII the Hong Family pushed Japanese families out of China Town and into what would become 13th Street Territory. The Triads control the port and take a cut of all trade that goes through it except the Mafia's. Rivals: The Di Capri Family
 
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Minor Criminal Organizations and Petty Criminals


[tt]Al-Saif:[/tt] New affordable housing developments in the Libertad neighborhood, close to the coast, created a growing sub-neighborhood of tenement houses. The Libertad locals named the new project community 'New Mecca' because a large number of new tenets were Muslim and they bought nearby land to build a mosque. The local Latino gangs, under the umbrella of the Vagos, began threatening the new community, young men formed their own 'civil defense group' to protect the neighborhood and keep drugs and other crime out. One of the main was they earn income is by demanding protection money from local businesses for them to finance their ability to keep drug dealers away.

Russian Mafiya: With Russia so close to Haven City, one would expect a larger Mafiya presence in the city, and until twenty years ago there was. The Regulators began their relationship with the Di Capri Family by ambushing a majority of the muscle and leadership of the Mafiya and killing them, effectively crippling the organization in the city. now their influence is limited to a few poker games and the area around Saint Barbara's Russian Orthodox Church in the north-east quarter of the city.

Yakuza: From the beginning when Japanese immigrants began coming to Haven City, the Hong Triad made it a concerted effort to keep them under their wing and protection. Any attempts for Yakuza development in the area were swiftly crushed. When the Japanese community was forced to relocate out of the docks and into Oak Hills the problem seemed to solve itself. At the moment the only Yakuza presence in the city is the occasional short term construction effort.

Franko 'Frank the Tank' Pasquale's Crew: A former soldier for the Mafia with connections into the local PD who formed his own stick-up crew back in the 90's. The membership stays small,often rotating out. They make their money primarily from robbing drug dealers and rotating their targets and locations. He's a fearsome force on the Street with a dangerous reputation.


The Johnsons: The Johnson family has been powerful in the state of Jefferson since before it was even a territory. They have controlled conservative politics in the state for one-hundred and fifty years being the chief family behind the state's ban of Chinese immigrants and one of the greatest opponents of many of the policies that would benefit the Native Americans on Jefferson's many reservations. The current generation of the family, the brothers Donald and Mitchell, run a hardware chain that runs across the state that is used to smuggle meth and firearms. They are also deeply invested in the real estate industry of Haven City that is working to gentrify many of the low-income neighborhoods. They spend much of their time rubbing elbows with the State Senators in Jeffersonia. Low on manpower, they often outsource their muscle to the Nords and other white supremacist gangs.


El Norte and the Fresno Cartel: El Norte is the prison gang connected to Los Vagos, as well as being the umbrella Latino gang that unites various Latino street gangs throughout the northern United States and Canada. The Fresno Cartel are their backers in Northern California, Jefferson, Oregon and Washington. Almost all of the cocaine that comes into Haven City is brought in by the Fresno Cartel who supplies Los Vagos, the 13th Street Regulators and the 91'er's.


Rogue Band: A gang of Native American youth active in the Rogue River Valley and the surrounding area. It is primarily based out of the Table Rock Reservation, close to Jeffersonia, and reaches out to the Burns Pauite Reservation, and into Nevada through the Fort McDermitt Reservation. A small gang of only a few hundred members across two states; the Rogue Band primarily is involved in small crimes as well as growing and selling marijuana and mushrooms. They have close ties to the 13th Street Regulators through Regs OG Che Verga.
 
The Di Capri Family: La Cosa Nostra

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The story of the Di Capri Family in America begins with Celestino 'the Tourist' Di Capri who came to America from the island of Capri at the age of five in 1900. Living in Little Italy he came up with such influential men as Vito Genovese, Lucky Luciano and Arnold Rothstein. He ran with Lucky in the Five Points Gang for a time before coming to work with Joe Masseria. In 1920 the bosses of New York realized that they needed a man out on the West Coast as the rum-running route from Vancouver south along the coast was going to be a lucrative trade. Celestino was the man chosen for the job. On paper he moved out to Haven City to grow lemons and grapes.

Upon arriving in Haven City Celestino went about making himself familiar to the lay of the land; quickly befriending the son of Hong Triad leader Yuen Hong. This friendship allowed Celestino to convince Yuen to back him on a protection racket against the rum runners. Sailing in his own ship, with a crew of Italians and local Chinese-Americans they would cut across Rum Row and board rum-runners, taking much of their cargo for their own as a 'tariff.' This nautical adventures would soon grow into a profitable business model for the Di Capri-Hong alliance. The alliance would come to an end in 1931 with the rise of the Commission. From then on Celestino's only ally was the Chicago Outfit. In 1933, with the end of Prohibition the Di Capri Family and the Hong Triad began competing for ways of earning income.

Through the 30's into the 50's the Di Capri Family appeared to be focused on legitimate business practices. The garbage industry in Haven City was run almost entirely by the Di Capri Family or their associates, as was much of the construction and expansion that took place in the forties and fifties. Celestino achieved a seat on the Commission in 1947 with the death of Al Capone, representing the families west of the Rockies. He died in 1955 and passed on the title of boss to his son, Giacomo.

Giacomo led the first real Mafia-Triad war in Haven City in the late 60's over the heroin trade. An impasse was reached throughout the 70's with the city split between the Triad, Mafia and Mafiya. Because of this the Di Capri power on the Commission dwindled, only to increase in the 80's and into the 90's as the LA, San Francisco, Seattle and Las Vegas families each were weakened or rendered defunct by government investigation. Several street bosses and other members of the Di Capri Family fell in various arrests and conflicts with the Mafiya. The head remained. Alphonse Di Capri, Celestino's grandson, served as underboss for his uncle Giacomo. Alphonse took the reigns from his uncle in 1993.

Much of the bloodshed of the 90's into the 00's could be laid at the feet of the ambitions of Alphonse 'Boss Al' Di Capri. When two young men name John Gayle and Jon Jackson came to him with an idea for how to bring peace to the city, he became their benefactors and they became Associates. Now Boss Al is one of the most powerful men, not just in Haven City, but on the entire West Coast.

Boss
Alphonse 'Boss Al' Di Capri​
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Underboss
Augustus 'Augy' Di Capri​
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[size=14pt]Consigliere[/size]
[size=12pt]Marco 'The Corsican' Casanova[/size]​
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Caporegime
Carlo 'Big Chucky' Pappalardo​
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Luigi "Lucky Louie" Cavalcante​
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Domenic 'Jettatore' Innocenti​
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Mateo Mancuso​
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Giuseppe 'Coach' Natale​
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Reaper's Own Motorcycle Club, Haven City

"the trouble was caused by the one per cent deviant that tarnishes the public image of both motorcycles and motorcyclists the other ninety-nine per cent of motorcyclists are good, decent, law-abiding citizens"-American Motorcycle Association, 1947​
The year was 1948, veterans from the Second World War had been home for a few years and were becoming adjusted to the new America that they had come home to. Some of them were missing something however, for some a sense of adventure or rush of adrenaline; others sought the sense of camaraderie and brotherhood they had developed during the war; others still were seeking to bury horrifying experiences and memories. Ten of these men, having met through the various paths of life, came together in Denver, Colorado to found the mother chapter of the Reaper's Own Motorcycle Club- Reaper's Own, Colorado Chapter.

The Reaper's Own was outlaw from the beginning, unlike every AMA affiliated club of the time they were not a segregated club, of their ten founding members five of them were white. Denver's location as equidistant from several major cities allowed for the Reaper's to quickly find work in the transportation business. Reapers would ride protection for trucks, first for legitimate businesses, and then later with dope shipments going out to the various mining and timber communities in Colorado. The foundation of this Club was that they were all men that Death had touched, and claimed as its own. The brotherhood that such experiences had created drew in more men from all around. Soon, Denver had become too crowded for the likes of Calvin ' Heavy Cal' Boddicker who moved out to the still expanding Haven City in 1953.

The Reaper's Own Haven City Chapter (ROHC) was founded in 1954 in Oakwood, a town outside of Haven City, with much of its membership comprised of veterans from the Korean War searching for the same things that their older brothers had been looking for after their war. The economy was booming, the city was growing and the newly expanded State Route 91 allowed for greater access north and south on the West Coast- which allowed for greater business opportunities for ROHC. Oakwood was one of the first exits out of Haven City unhampered by city traffic and for that reason it made an ideal home-base for the club. The town of Oakwood prospered from the money that Boddicker shipping brought in and was able to maintain their status as a town, not swallowed up by the city, due to Club interference and investment.

In the 60's the Club broke ground on their clubhouse just off the exit; it was also around this time that a member of the Club gained ownership of the bar that would come to be known as 'The Big Bird Bar & Grill' that shared a parking lot with the Club. The Bird would come to serve as a popular hangout for Reapers and a way for them to clean their money made through smuggling and the transportation of narcotics. Due to the power of the local Mafia, the Fresno Cartel and the Hong Triad, the Reaper's Own refrained from entering the business of producing and dealing drugs, but instead made themselves indispensable as mules.

During the Haven City War of the 90's ROHC was initially neutral. The president at the start of the war described it as: "a big man's fight turned into a little man's war. A proxy war between the Triad's, the Mafia and the Bratva for control of the Street. In short, city business." In the beginning this resulted in the Club selling to, and for, all sides, navigating a web of verbal contracts and social mores that would make one's head spin. This changed, however, when a motorcycle gang from California that was affiliated with Los Vagos attacked a club transport of Fresno Cartel cocaine in order to prove that the Reapers could not protect the Cartel's interests as well as the others could. This created tensions between ROHC and Los Vagos that boiled over when ROHC refused to transport any more Los Vagos goods until restitution had been made.

This relative neutrality served the Reaper's well when the 13th Street Regulators needed an initial ally and business partner. In a deal brokered by former Vagos member-turned Regulators OG Che Verga, the Reaper's would transport military grade weapons for the Regulators up and down the coast in order to finance the Regs through their war. Current Club President Walker Reid was present as a young man at the meeting that ended the War. The conflict between Los Vagos and ROHC was ended, but the tensions remain.


Club President
Walker Reid​
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Vice President
Derek "Dick" Richards​
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Sergeant at Arms
Deion Bradley​
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Road Captain
Loyal Johnson​
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The Wise Man
Osborne 'Oz' Packer​
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Members
Marshall Maddox
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David Longwater​
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Taylor 'Two-Tails' Beecher​
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Christopher Longwater​
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Jayson Woods​
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Cole "Loco" Robinson​
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Ned "Outlaw" Wales​
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[size=12pt]Salazar 'Sal' Lopez[/size]​
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Joshua 'Devil Dog' Davis (MC)​
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The Hong Triad
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"Though I never entered the Triad society, I have often heard it said that their object is to subvert the Qing and restore the Ming dynasty. Such an expression was very proper in the time of Kangxi [reg.1661-1722], when this society was at first formed, but now after the lapse of two hundred years, we may speak of subverting the Qing, but we cannot speak of restoring the Ming. At all events, when our native mountains and rivers are recovered, a new dynasty must be established." - Hong Xiuquan, Heavenly King of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom​

In the West the Long Nineteenth Century is remembered as a period of growth, expansion and imperialism. In China it is called the 'century of humiliation'; beginning with the First Opium War in 1839 Qing China did not win a single war against an external power and struggled to suppress internal rebellions without European support, material or armies. Many of the internal rebellions were led by, or started by, secret societies, such as the Sanhehui and Tiandihui. It was the stated goal of societies like these to 'subverting the Qing to restore the Ming.' They were hardly alone in wishing to oppose the Qing. The Taiping Civil War would become one of the bloodiest conflicts in human history.

Yang Fuqing was a general for the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, his brother was the commander-in-chief of the movement led by the God Worshipping Society. Nicknamed tou wang, Yellow Tiger, Yang fought on until the end, long after the end in fact. After his Heavenly King, Hong Xiuquan, Xiuquan's son and nearly every other major official of the Rebellion was dead. In April, 1865 Yellow Tiger disappeared from history and Hong Yunshan, boarded a Triad boat in Shanghai that took him to Haven City. At that time the Chinese community of the city was disorganized and unprotected; Yunshan established an organization to keep the Chinese community in line with the wishes of the leadership of Haven City at the time, as well as to protect them from anti-Chinese sentiments and groups.

From these humble beginnings the Hong family built up what would come to be known as the 'Hong Triad', one of the more powerful criminal organizations in the American North-West, connections to criminal groups in China, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Taiwan allowed the organization to dominate the West Coast opium trade for almost a century. The Triad controls Chinatown with an iron fist, claiming the various waves of Asian immigrants who came to Haven City as their rightful subjects. When the Japanese community of Haven City was forced to leave during WWII the Hong Family took it as an insult that they were not given first right to purchase their property from the city. Over the years upstart Asian street gangs were either quashed or subsumed by the Triad \'s influence, until the late 80's when the No Label Gang was established to act as a proxy for the Hong Family on the Street.

This helped redeem the image of the Hong Family in the eyes of the community, draw attention to how they have diversified themselves with members in academia, clergy, the union as well as being a family that operated several restaurants. To those not in the know, the Hongs seem like just another wealthy family who has been in Haven City for over a century.

Organization: There have been two models for how the Triads have operated, one more inclined towards operation as a secret society, the other more streamlined towards the world of organized crime. The Hong Triad has typically operated under the former organization and has not transitioned to the more streamlined option with the turn of the century. The Chairman works with the Deputy Chairman and the Incense Master to determine moves of the Triad as well as membership. A Vanguard assists the Incense Master in his duties; a Cho Hai liaises between the Triad and other criminal organizations; the Red Pole controls the troops; a Mastermind provides knowledge and advice. Lower members and associates fulfill similar roles as within other organizations.

Activities: The Triad is one of the largest providers of heroin to the city and beyond. No member of the Triad deals themselves, but they do provide product to those who do, in the case of Haven City they provide for the No Label Gang, as well as They also operate illegal gambling rings in the Chinatown community; traffic people all along the coast and across the Pacific, run protection rackets, and other enterprises. Any goods or business going through the Chinatown ports require approval or a kickback to go to the Triad.

Chairman
Henry Hong
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Deputy Chairman
Tony Ma
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Incense Master
Father Francis Xavier Cheng
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Vanguard
Ronald 'Ronnie' Hong
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Cho Hai
Morris 'Mo' Pak
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Red Pole
Lucas 'Lucky Luke' Chui
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Mastermind
Dr. Coek Hong
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Associates
Anne Hong nee Cheng
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Los Vagos
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Latino organized crime in Haven City is older than the city itself. La Libertad was founded by Santiago Maria de Barracas, a Mexican soldier and veteran of the Mexican War for Independence who forged a land grant for a ranchero that stretched from El Asilo de Asalto to Pistol River, rustling and herding cows from abandoned missions on his northern journey from California. The first inhabitants of La Libertad were vaqueros,renegades, runaways, whores, and filibusteros. The idea was to found a community as far away from rules and laws as possible. Beyond the edges of civilization. The ranchero survived for Barracas' lifetime trading beef to the local tribes and supplying mountain men and fur traders who moved through the region. Peaceful relations with the soldiers stationed in Fort Smith broke down following the conclusion of the Mexican-American War, and a law passed reexamining Mexican land grants. The same soldiers that had fed off La Libertad beef and frequented La Libertad whores came and enforced the confiscation of the majority of Barracas's land until the ranchero was confined to the bounds of modern La Libertad.

Los Vagos constitutes the latest iteration of organized crime in La Libertad, founded by a mix of returning veterans and *pachucos* in 1955 as an organization to combat racial discrimination in Haven City. Originally a primary Chicano movement, Los Vagos found themselves conflicting with the Asian gangs of Chinatown and the shifting demographics of Oak Hills. Veterans of this early era describe it in idealistic terms, 'a mix of marijuana, Marxism and folk saints.' These early Los Vagos members idolized Mexican folk saints and Latino Robin Hoods, while spending much of their time defending their community centered on the corner of Ranch and Mission Street. At the end of the 1950's federal and state authorities targeted many groups fitting Los Vagos' description, with a large body of the organization either incarcerated or sent to Vietnam. Both options hardened Los Vagos members and increased their criminal connections, including help found the prison gang El Norte.

Come 1970, the perfect storm arrived for La Libertad and Los Vagos. The majority of their original members had returned home from either Vietnam or prison with a deadly new set of skills at contacts in the criminal underworld, particularly the predecessor to the Fresno Cartel and the Vibora Motorcycle Club. These connections and skills allowed them to be the bleeding edge of cocaine distribution in the North-West, annexing and assimilating other gangs in La Libertad, establishing sets in other cities and states, and expanding their territory in Haven City until they controlled almost all of the city south of Route 91. Conflicts arose between Los Vagos and various gangs that would form the 91'er's, marking the second wave of gang violence in the cities history. Los Vagos influence and power were at their zenith in 1989 when the Haven City War began.

Old rivalries with the leaders of the 91'er's initially pulled Los Vagos into the conflict on the side of the Di Capri Family, with much of the violence involving control of access to Route 91 and territory along the 13th Street connection. Santiago Reyes had retired as leader of Los Vagos in the lead up to the conflict, passing the mantel to his youngest son Alejandro, who quickly earned a reputation for brutality and bloody-mindedness. This ruthlessness on his part is what eventually led to the formation of the 13th Street Regulators to end the violence. The Reaper's Own conflict with the Viboras damaged Los Vagos supply lines and profit leaving them vulnerable to the eventually rout that cost them half of their territory to the nascent 13th Street Regulators.

In 2003, Alejandro came to terms with Jon Gayle, allowing for a peace deal where the Regulators were allowed to keep their newly gained territory, taking many crews affiliated with Los Vagos with them, in return for supporting El Norte control of the prison drug trade. Especially to Denne State Penitentiary. Not long after, Alejandro was arrested on drug trafficking, weapons and murder charges and sentenced to fifty years in Denne, up for parole in 2021. Alejandro's older brother, Antonio, took over the role of leader of Los Vagos while his brother was in prison. In 2006, a violent altercation led to a brutal beating that left Alejandro in a persistent vegetative state from which he has not emerged.

Antonio's leadership of the gang following Gayle's Peace, went in a different direction from his brother's. A greater focus was placed on profit instead of emotion as they worked to find their footing in a new situation. Antonio was able to rebrand their image as being 'for the community' at the cost of a certain amount of influence and profit. In 2010, Antonio's lowrider was found flipped over and wrecked on the side of the road. Police found no evidence of foul play and ruled the death accidental. Since it was a one-party accident, no toxicology was released to determine whether Antonio had been driving under the influence.

Cesar Reyes, Antonio's son, stepped up to leadership and began transitioning to a new and younger leadership and structure. With the new leadership came new business opportunities, with Cesar taking advantage of various markets that had been left untouched by his father and uncle. He has maintained a cordial relationship with the 13th Street Regulators, as well as avoiding further conflict with the Reaper's Own and the 91'er's. On the other hand, Cesar has found conflict in the newly built New Mecca Projects that have changed the landscape of La Libertad.

Organization: Cesar reorganized Los Vagos to a more top-down structure following taking control, copying parts of the model used by many drug cartels. At the head was Cesar as the distro, the only one with access to the connect (The Fresno Cartel) he then distributes the received products to 4-6 *primeras* who control their territory and kick money back up to Cesar for more drugs/protection/guns etc. Below the *primeras* are crew leaders who control corners and blocks and actually deal the drugs along with their crew members. Advising Cesar are his three *tenientes* one who handles the drugs and women, one who handles the *soldados* and guns, and one who handles everything else.

Activities: Los Vagos drug of choice is cocaine, bringing it in in large enough numbers to supply the drug needs of almost half a city consistently being a significant effort. They dabble in heroin for the prison drug trade, and of course have plenty of people growing marijuana through-out their territory. Car theft, chop shops and protection rackets also bring in money; as well as a protection racket for many businesses in the La Libertad area. Most street races are organized through Los Vagos. While not as organized or established as Phantasies', Los Vagos also profits from a reasonably organized prostitution ring benefiting from their connection to the good beach houses of the area as well as El Camino. Legitimate businesses owned by the Reyes family include the Three Kings Carniceria, Reyes Auto Shop, and a series of laundromats that are all used in some part to launder money. Undocumented immigrants also receive support and employment from Los Vagos and their network.

Religion: Los Vagos members are predominantly Roman Catholic and worship at one of the three, largely ethnic, Catholic Churches in La Libertad, or rarely the Church of St. Brendan in Oak Hills. Piety is a large focus for the members of Los Vagos, especially the Reyes family who stress that they are 'good Catholics'. Despite their criminal enterprise. A great focus on folk saints has always been present in the gang, with murals for various folk saints present on the walls throughout La Libertad. The newest generation of Vagos has also added Santa Muerte to their pantheon.

Symbols & Traditions: Common tattoos for Los Vagos include 5's, V's, LV, and bulls. They've adopted many of the symbols of Northern Hispanic gangs as well as LA culture. Lowriders are their frequent vehicles of choice, often airbrushed and with murals. La Libertad youth have shown a particular interest in street art in the 21st century. Buildings and businesses under the protection of Los Vagos, or own by LV, often display a bull skull somewhere visible from the street.

Allies: Fresno Cartel, El Norte, Bonitas Salvajes, 91'er's, Vibora Motorcycle Club,

Rivals: Reaper's Own,

Distro
Cesar Reyes​
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Tenientes
Luis 'Loco' Caballero​
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Armando Machado​
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Juan Romero 'J.R.' Navarro​
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Primeras
Francisco 'Chico' Reyes [MC]​
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RaĂşl 'Viejo' Villanueva​
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Ignacio 'Xolotl' Padilla [incarcerated]​
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Catalina Verga​
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Ricardo 'Slic Ric' Sanchez​
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Carlos 'Nazca' Durante​
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Crew Leaders[/center]
Guillermo 'Guera' RamĂ­rez

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Mateo 'Gordo' RamĂ­rez

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Rafael Aguilar

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Jaime Valdez

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Miscellaneous
Alejandro 'Alex the Red' Reyes [incarcerated]

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Santiago Reyes

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Antonio Reyes [deceased]

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NapoleĂłn Reyes

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91'er's

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Gangs form in the absence of law and order in two ways; either the strong realize the benefit of strength in numbers in order to take more from the weak; or those previously victimized band together to fight off those who would oppress and victimize them. The African-American community of Haven City has needed to organize in order to protect itself from outside oppressors for its entire one hundred and seventy year history. The African-American community in Haven City was centered in two areas, Pinesend and Freedale, though the construction and then expansion of Route 91 effectively destroyed Freedale by the 1920's. The Great Migration from the 1920's to 1960's changed the face of Haven City's demographics. Prior to the `1920's the city was split fairly evenly between white, Hispanic, and Asian demographics, with Native and African Americans making up less than 10%. Today the percentages are closer to 40% White, 20% Asian, Hispanic and African American.

This demographic change attracted opposition from the white community of Curry County. In order to counter the terror and systemic oppression that they experienced the black community of Haven City organized two responses. Nonviolent resistance was organized by the church, either AME or Baptist, civil disobedience came from the Street. The residents of Pinesend learned how to organize their crews early on, this was information that would be useful in the 60's and 70's when young black man returned from Vietnam traumatized, trained and looking for work. The drug trade became the primary employer for young black men in Haven City for much of the 70's.

Due to proximity the Bratva became the primary supplier and connection for these gangs; leaders found that it was simpler to form a structure where street crews paid up to more powerful crews, and for this more powerful crews to arrange bulk buys from the Bratva than compete with each other. In the 1980's, as competition from the Triad and Los Vagos increased the various gangs in Pinesend began merging until in 1988 they formed one large umbrella group: the 91'er's. The name was taken up for two reasons, the first in memory that Route 91's construction was central to the narrative that made the black community in Haven City who they were. The second, that they hoped to establish control of the drug trade in their portion of Haven City by 1991. It was this latter ambition, when combined with the ambitions of other gangs in the city, that led to the thirteen year 'Haven City War.'

The early years of the 91'er's were centered around the record label HC Records. Several crew leaders were rappers for the label, or otherwise worked for the label in such a way to launder their money. The first two leaders of the gang were rappers for the label, and the second leader's wife is the current head of the label. Funds received through the profits of HC Records, or laundered through said profits, were used to buy up real estate in the community of Pinesend, in an effort to bring the community back to being, at least on some level, black-owned.

Because the 91'er's are less centralized than other gangs their structure is also different. At the bottom you have bangers who are your typical members of a crew. Often these are youths working their neighborhoods equivalent of a summer and after school job, these youths are often called 'baby bangers' to differentiate them from adult bangers, or 'soldiers', who have made the Game their life. These bangers are then assembled into crews under their crew leaders, there are dozens of crews in Pinesend, and typically the crew leader is the highest level the average person would interact with. The crew leaders kick up a percentage of their income to the top for the privilege of having their position and being able to operate. If the crew leaders ever find they need more muscle they can call on enforcers who are the 'real 91'er's' there are approximately thirty to forty enforcers at any one time as they act as the 'main crew.' Above the enforcers you have the lieutenants the right hand guys to theleader, their exact role and function depends on their own qualities as well as the leadership style and abilities. For a more hands-off leader they might run the day to day business, or for a more hands on one they might serve only as advisors. The leader himself is the one who controls and coordinates it all, deciding on who gets to become crew leaders and what actions the gang takes as whole. Separate from, but not above, the leader are shot callers, people who are still in the Game, were probably lieutenants or high level enforcers themselves, and now instead of 'taking the shots' they 'call' them. So if the caller 'suggests' (never orders) that something needs to be done; the leader makes it happen.


Shot Callers

Monique 'Moni' Carroll
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Demetrius Alpert
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Mark 'Market' Keder
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Leader
Khalil 'King' Smith
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Lieutenants
Charles 'Rattles' Daniels
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Moses 'Doze' Young
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Aaron Ayon' Young
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Pierre 'R0-Q' Lowman
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Enforcers
Edith 'Eddie' Pierce
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Booker


















Trey Parker

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Crew Leaders
Duquan 'Lil Duke' Smith

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Roberto 'Butcher Bob' Cobb

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NaBrice 'Ice' Hill
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Bangers
JT York [MC]
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Former Leaders
Darius 'D.O.' O'Shea

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Chris 'Spooner' Carroll

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Nords
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White hate has deep roots in the state of Jefferson. In 1844, the Provisional Government of the Oregon Territory passed laws excluding black settlers from coming to Oregon, under threat of "not less than twenty nor more than thirty-nine stripes" for every six months they remained in the Territorty. These laws remained effective in the area of the territory that would become Jefferson until 1849, when Jefferson Territory was split off from the Oregon Territory and from California, there were those who advocated for the black exclusion laws to be included in the new territorial charter. This threat united the freedmen and the Chicano residents of southern Jefferson Territory to work together in order to oppose the inclusion of the black exclusion laws in Jefferson. In this first conflict between the white supremacists and people of color in Jefferson the white supremacists were defeated by numbers alone and the black exclusion laws were not applied.

The conflict for domination of the territory, and later the state, continued with the white supremacist forces often being led by members of the Johnson family. One of the first Anglo families to come into the territory, the Johnson's had their hands in many businesses that would allow them to extend their influence and reach from Haven City to Jeffersonia and everywhere else in the territory. Beginning as timber farmers they wielded political, social, and economic power throughout the territory. Today the Johnson family runs a hardware store and shipping company called Johnson and Johnson's that is the local competer to national chains such as Walmart. Though they have scrubbed up their appearance in rsent decades, the family is still deeply tied to the Republican Party and white supremacist groups in the state.

The KKK came to Jeffersonia in 1921, and its operations were largely based in that area. Using the nearby Reservation and the influx of Catholics and Eastern Europeans as wedge issues to attract members, again including several Johnson family members, the KKK held a grip on Jefferson politics for several decades before fading away following the collapse of the second Klan. One result of this surge in power was the creation of the Route 91 state highway that destroyed the Freeport black community in Haven City. The Civil Rights era and rise in Latino population in Haven City led to the creation of various groups in opposition to said movements, without directly affiliating themselves with the Klan.

One such group based out of Glenwood would become one of the most prominent, orginally going by the grandiose name 'Northern Order for Racial Dominion' it became shortened to 'Nords' over time by members and opponents alike. In the 70's and 80's the Nords had a not-quite-negative public perception, often cooperating with police in order to keep drugs from La Libertad and Pinesend from entering the white neighborhoods of Haven City. This perception began to disappear in the 90's as the Haven City War escalated, showing that the Nords could be just as violent as their minority opponents, even if the police seemed to treat them with less vitriol than they did Los Vagos or 91'ers. The Nords controlled Glenwood Park for much of the 90's and used it as a foothold to deal drugs and press into Oak Hills, but their actions related to the 13th Street Regulators eventually led to their downfall.

John Jackson famously massacred thirty-five members of the Nords during his 2004 rampage following a drive by shooting that put Jon Gayle into the hospital. The Haven City War ended with the Nords killing John Jackson and leaving his body in Glenwood Park. For the last seventeen years the Nords have been licking the wounds, pushing their operations into the county and away from the city, and benefiting from the recent rise in far right talking points that have allowed them to recruit new members.

Organization: The Nords serve as an offshoot for the Jefferson Aryan Brotherhood (the Brand) wih a ruling council of three men, the council then oversees 'families' (crews) run by 'kindred' who then recruit 'progeny'. The money these families earn is funneled up to the council, where it is transferred to the Johnsons who launder it and then distribute it back into the Street. The Johnsons are not official members of the Nords, but have serious control and influence over them and the Brand.

Activities: meth dealing, racketeering, robbery, gambling, dog fighting, human trafficking, arms trafficking

Religion: Most Nords are nominally Protestant, though not often seen as pillars of their community. Higher up Nords hold to more racialist nordic pagan and spiritualist ideas.

Symbols & Traditions: 88, Totenkapf, a large assortment of other white supremacy symbols.

Colors: Red and black

Allies: Johnsons, Bratva, the Brand, Curry County Crusaders

Rivals: 13th Street Regulators, 91'er's



Council

Ewell Darby
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Nate Forrest
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Donald Irwin
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Kindred

Spencer Reagan​
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Ross Reagan​
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Jerry Moon​
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Bob Hart​
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Dylan 'Devil' Kemmerling​
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Derek Keith​
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Leonard 'Lenny the Psycho' Kurowski​
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Matthew 'Spider' Webber​
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Dale 'Cobra' Kober​
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Progeny

Nolan Baum [MC]​
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Kip Winter​
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Peter Tate​
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Marcus Braddock​
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Stone​
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Skull​
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Lucas Cole​
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Denne State Penitentiary



The Jefferson Department of Corrections considers three factors when deciding where a convict will be incarcerated for the extent of their sentence: sex, geography, and threat-level. A prisoner's place of origin, as well as their location of offense, are considered during the sentencing process in order to determine where it would be most effective to house and transport them. There are three prisons in the western half of the state of Jefferson: Pistol River Women's Prison, and Pelican Bay State Prison. If you have XY Chromosomes and aren't deemed too much of a risk you end up being sent up the coast to Denne. If you have a problem playing well with others then toss you in PBSP, lock the door and throw away the key.1

Denne State Penitentiary is named for Samuel Denne, an 18th century English cleric who was an early advocate for prison reform. Situated on an island just off the coast and forty-five miles north of Haven City, the only way on and off the island is over a bridge guarded by towers on each side. Originally used as a temporary holding place for a group of displaced Native Americans, a proper prison was built there in the late 1880's following the increase in crime coming from Haven City. Serious modernization efforts have taken place three times in Denne's history, once in the 1920's to keep pace with crime, again in the 1950's following damages sustained from the environment, and again in the early 2000's following the rise in computers and the huge influx from the cast-offs of the Haven City War. Housing is predominantly two-a-to-a-cell, but solitary cells are available for high-risk and death-row inmates.

The campus of the prison is divided into seven cell blocks: Blocks A-D house medium to high security prisoners, each cell block is run and operated by a unit manager with oversight form the Warden and Deputy Warden. The Solitary Housing Unity (SHU) is reserved for problem inmates and Death Row inmates. A convict may be sent to the SHU temporarily as punishment for disciplinary infractions such as fighting with a fellow prisoner or possessing dangerous contraband. Administrative Segregation (Ad Seg) is utilized as a tool to protect at risk inmates - cops, rats, and rape victims primarily. Lastly, a generous grant allowed Denne to build a 'fully equipped psych ward for rehabilitating the criminally inclined mentally ill' (or so the grant said, many prisoners suspect that the CO's keep the prisoners they don't want to deal with doped up and complacent in the psych ward.) Each of the four lettered Blocks can house up to 250 inmates, with the SHU, Ad Seg, and Psychiatric Ward maxing out at closer to fifty, with capacity rarely being reached at any one time.



Dramatis Personae



Prison Staff

Warden Glenn Savage​
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Deputy Warden Derek Keeley​

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The Brand

Arthur Wright​
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Louis 'Cypher' Szekely​
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Bratva

Dimitri Volkov​
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Nikolai 'Kolya' Kuznetsov​
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El Norte
Ignacio 'Xolotl' Padilla​
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Rollin' 91's

Jai 'Shoto' Tyson​
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Deacon 'Deke' Hill​
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Imhotep Clay​
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Regulators

Markus Price​
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Wayne "MOST" Long​
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Enrique Toro​
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Reaper's Own Big House Crew

Izael " Izzy" Black​
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Albert "Hanzo" Postelwaite​
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Alonso "Big O" Thompson​
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Di Capri Family

Robert Vitale​
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Caged Tigers

Nicholas Xiao​
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Travis Vinh​
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Alex Nguyen​
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