The Akorros Thieves Guild

The Toney Family are the nominal rulers of Akorros, but over the last decade or two thanks to a series of payoffs, intimidation, infiltration and assasinations the Thieves' Guild has worked itself into such a position of power that it has its fingers in every pie, and the takings going to the Toney family have dropped drastically (to the extent that the family have slipped from 6th to 9th in the wealth rankings).
It seemed like a good idea at the time. Rather than try to root out the Thieves' Guild - an impossible task - why not get the Thieves to police themselves? In return for a place at the top table and a modest per-capita annual fee, the citizens of Akorros get to live their lives mainly untroubled by petty crime and larceny. And for a while it was all working well.

Infiltration

Then the guild decided it wanted more, and developed the capabilities to take it. Led by the secretive Gyrfalcon, they began a targetted programme of infiltration into the mechanisms running the city.
They started small, getting their people as constables and lieutenants in the The Toney Guard, or intimidating existing members into turning a blind eye to their depradations. This didn't bring gains quickly enough for the Gyrfalcon's taste, so once they had developed their skills they turned to larger prey.
Their key breakthrough was the assassination of the head of the Corruption Corps of the The Toney Guard. They had managed to get one of their own into the higher echelons of the corps, and through a mixture of bribes and intimidation (and a couple more assassinations), they managed to sway enough of the councillors electing the new head to get their candidate elected.
Having the Corruption Corps turned to their own ends meant they could carry out their goals with much more impunity.

Type

Guild, Thieves