Forzi Cartel
Where there is legitimate endeavor, the criminal underclass lurks in the shadows to exploit it. Most city-states have their criminal underworld, dealing in stolen goods, trafficking illegal material, or extorting money. Much of this "industry" is dominated by the Forzi Cartel, one of the groups based in the CNCS protectorate of Wounded Knee. The Forzi have built their criminal empire by suborning existing enterprises, using strong-arm tactics - with ultra-violent object lessons for the recalcitrant - to persuade the groups of the wisdom of cooperating with the cartel. The Forzi dominated Wounder politics throughout most of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, using the vast income from their affiliates in the UMF to finance an extravagant Lifestyle and keep the other groups in check. However, the Kolson family usurped their leadership of the protectorate at the end of the nineteenth century. The Forzi immediately rebounded, smuggling goods, people and information into and out of CEF territory during the War of Alliance.
The most important center of Forzi business is the UMF, where they specialize in gambling, money lending and extortion, though they also smuggle high-value goods - including people - into and out of the UMF. The Forzi appear as an allpervasive force in the Mercantile underworld, their influence strongest in the west of the country, particularly in the corporate centers of Lyonnesse, Marathon and Rapid City, though almost every city in the UMF contains Forzi-controlled affiliates. The cartel's inability to break into the lucrative markets of Djakarta Point has been a bone of contention with a succession of Forzi leaders, who have instead settled for sponsoring a series of faction wars in the crime-riddled city. Roman Forzi, who has recently become responsible for all Forzi operations i n the CNCS, has put this disappointment behind him and continued to exploit the Kolson-dominated NLC. From 1918 to 1934, Roman was in charge of Norlight operations and led a bloody (and ongoing) war with the Kolson Cartel. Kolson lieutenant Sundra Turai responded with attacks on Forzi holdings in the UMF, trying to erode Roman's support among the Forzi hierarchy. Indeed, Nelis Forzi (Roman's elderly uncle, who had ruled UMF operations since the 1870s) was very displeased. Roman solved the problem by assassinating his uncle and taking over all Northern operations. Cartel chief Maraka Forzi had little choice but to accept his cousin's coup. Many Forzi capos have come to realize that Roman is now the de facto leader of the cartel.
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