Corbin opens the blinds to the window situated at the front of his home. He looks out the window with a pained expression and looks on at the growing crowd that has formed outside his family gates. With a slight hesitation, Corbin closes the blind and proceeds to his front door. Once the door is open, Corbin, closely followed by Viagra, makes long and fast strides to his family's gates. Once arriving, Viagra steps in front of Family Head and opens the gates. When the gates open, Corbin clears his throat and proceeds to speak.

"First off, I apologise for this brash and slightly hurried speech, but I thought it would be in the best interest of the general public to get straight down to the point, rather than concoct some sort of falsified, sugar coated response to the actions that have taken place in Philadelphia today."

"As most of you in the crowd will be aware of, the former Philadelphia Don known as Sinfest, has been slain in an attack formulated by myself. Before I state the reasons behind the attack, I would like to clarify that this act was undertaken with the rule that there would be minimal casualties taken to achieve the task at hand. I would also like to add that although, the repercussions and blame of the enbittered people are to be aimed at me and only me."

Corbin looks up at the gray sky with a pained expression, sighs slightly, and continues with his speech.

"Through out the many generations of my family line that have been lucky enough to have been brought up in such a budding metropolis, we have always had a few key rules that we MUST adhere to. One of those few rules has been broken almost everyday by Sinfest. What I am talking about is street presence (or lack of). Now I know there will be people who are scoffing at this notion and are throwing their hands up in disbelief, or worse, but I implore you to listen to my reasoning before you judge me on my actions."

"I believe that it is important to the city of Philadelphia and for the remaining cities to hear from all the Crew Leaders, never mind the City Heads, even if is a fleeting comment or speech every so often. This quite simple action gives the appointed people in power the chance to portray their thoughts and expressions to the general public and also allows the general public to interact and converse with the people in power. Sinfest failed at every hurdle to put this simple action in to fruition."

"It has been shown on more occasions that I could possibly recollect, that one of the key ojectives to a city that has successfully grown is, again, street presence. Without this street presence, the only way Philadelphia could have possibly grown is by mindless recruiting and more guns. Now where I agree that a sizeable amount of guns and members shows a strong front and enables a stronger defense for the city, it is, by all means, not the be all and end all of success.

"Besides his lack of communication, there was his lack of trusting people. He never trusted anyone from the moment he set up in Philadelphia. Not even his own people."

14:45 ****> you had an issue with trusting corbin and Viagra at first. and that got you no where till you opened up and gave it a chance
14:46 ****> since then buisness has gotten better but it still needs work
14:46 Sinfest> you think i trust them now?
14:46 Sinfest> honestly
14:46 Sinfest> three people i trust in game

"Distrusting the people you have to work with would be reason enough to be killed for, but even threaten to kill them!?"

14:50 Sinfest> i trust them enough not to kill them
14:50 Sinfest> that should be good enough for now

"The final nail in the proverbial coffin regards a conversation that I recently had with Sinfest. The topic that we were discussing was that of giving a member of Philadelphia the honour of running his, or her, own Family. Now I can say that this conversation excited me. It made me happy to know that due to the fact Philadelphia were gaining more citizens by the day, a new Family was to be authorised. What changed my mood from happy, to sheer elation was the fact that the member myself and Sinfest had chosen, was a current member of La Casa Rossa. I admittedly left this meeting feeling pretty damn good."

"However, this feeling did not last long. Shortly after I had arrived home, I received information from one of my many trusted sources. A piece of information that made me seriously question whether or not, Sinfest had any notion of respect. I was informed that Sinfest had gone behind my back BEFORE our conversation about the possibility of a new auth, and had asked this person whether or not they wanted to become a Crew Leader. Where I come from, this is down right disrespectful. Not only am I a Crew Leader, thus earning me the right to be privy to such decisions before anyone else, bar perhaps Sinfest's RHW (who I assume already knew), but I also have a goddamn right to decide what is in the best interest of my own Family members. Be it if the tables were reversed, and I did this misdeed towards Sinfest, I would expect my last memories to that of the fishes floating past my head."

"It is with these reasons that I decided it was the best for the city of Philadelphia and subsequently, the other cities, to take down the reign of Sinfest. This being said, I do not bare any ill feelings or grudges against the relatives of Sinfest. I did what I did with the preservation of Philadelphia close at mind."

"I would also like to stress that certain precautions have been put in to place to ensure the safety and wellbeing with regards to the former members of Sinfest's family. This means that MacDre has been given the nod to start his own Family in Philadelphia. All former members of Sinfest's family will receive an invite to join MacDre's Family. I ask all of you to allow the former members the necessary time (seven days), to accept the invite or seek shelter elsewhere. I wish I could have done this on a happier note, but I congratulate MacDre on his newly formed status and wish him the very best in the future."

"Finally, if there is any further developments with regards to Philadelphia, I will surely inform you, the public, post haste."

Corbin pauses for a moment, shows a tentative smile, turns and proceeds to walk back in to the confinements of his own home, closely followed by Viagra.

you done what anyone would of done given these actions grhs.

My good sir,

I am not making any comments on the actions taken, as I have no involvment nor opinion on business and matters that do not effect me or the businesses I am involved in.
I also thank you for your explanation however I do not believe any explanation is warranted, as your great city should be allowed to handle your business as you see fit. There is no reason for us to know, and even more important, no reason for us to express our opinions on actions taken. You went beyond your way for this explanation.

I do not agree with something that you had posted however. I am not disagreeing with the action, but more disagreeing with something stating that can greatly influence our future generations.

"Distrusting the people you have to work with would be reason enough to be killed for..."

When I was just a young buck, a local made guy took me in and brought me up. One his most important lessons he had ever made was to never fully trust anyone. It is the ones that you trust that usually end up putting a bullet behind your head.
As professionals, we should be able to work on a regular, daily basis with each other, however this shouldn't correlate to trust. For a person to say they only trust a handful of people is both very honest of that person, and very smart.

I think the lesson that needs to be passed on to the ones we take under our guidence is to not trust too easily, rather than to trust someone just because you work with them. Trust must be earned. If we start preaching that we have to trust people, people are going to begin to expect to be trusted without ever having to prove their loyalty.

It's always dissapointing to work under someone who doesn't take advantage of what they have, the support they are given and fall short of the original purpose.

Being the zombie I find myself being, I've just woken up from the grave fairly recently and did not get to watch the full rain of the late Don Sinfest. But, Mr. Russell, I can tell that this was not a lightly made decision on your part. You have put time and thought into the speech you have given us. Which, thank you for it. No crew leader is forced to give us outside your city any of your time, but it's nice to see that's a top priority of yours. You've put time and thought into the actions you've taken today. You did not let the city suffer any longer then it needed to by letting life run it's course, you stepped in and took action. Good thing we are mobsters, in any other setting this would be murder, but in our way of life its honorable.

Yes, I'm sure we will all witness those who do not see it that way and cry about it on this very same street corner, but I truly believe you've done this to pull Philadelphia from its dark and supressed way of life back into the light. When a citt had has no faith, trust and communication with the city's upper structure it will hurt the whole city.

Though today may be a day if mourning, it alw
so seems like a day if celebrating. Congratulations MacDre on the opportunity that has stumbled your way.

I look foward to the new and fresh days ahead for Philly. May Philly and all of its inhabitants live a long and fruitful life.

First off; Congratulations on your move.

I like to see people making the moves they feel will benefit their city, even if it means removing the person your meant to serve ( watch your back Betsy )

The motives for your move are surprising to say the least. Its hard to understand why a City Head didn't take the time to get to know his own leader well enough to trust him, but even more concerning that he was given you as his underboss without having any trust in the first place? Lets not forget Corbin you were a well established leader in the Big Easy before moving to Philly. In fact, I doubt i'm alone in being surprised you weren't the city head to start with, but that again is really none of my business.

What I must say is that I am pleased to hear one of the reasons for this action being the lack of street presence Sinfest had. Its sometimes a bit of a taboo subject among people but I believe that being known by your fellow mafioso is paramount before going out and setting up your own HQ.

I wish you well Corbin in the coming days as i'm sure that you will have a big task of settling your city with such a big move happening inside it, i'm confident though that Philly will come out of this better for it.

Salut!

I have to say I'm having difficulties with this one. Allow me to elaborate of course, and please assume that I mean this with the respect that should go with any word spoken to a crewleader of Mr Russell's calibre. I would also like to clarify that with this I am not absolving Sinfest of any of his misdemeanours or mistakes.

First off, I believe that Sinfest was the head of Philly and acting Godfather of the city. Feel free to correct me on this. If this is the case then any member who resides in the city is under, first and foremost, his protection. Every member that is yours was by extension his. This would entitle him to speak to whoever he wished and whenever he wished within his city. I can see a slight annoyance in going past you to do this, but not a justifiable reason for a coup d'etat. You only have as many "rights" as your city head gives you, he's your Boss after all.

Also, you were part of his city. You had the majority of the members that resided in the aforementioned city. So why has all the blame fallen to him for street presence? Due to having more members, arguably the responsibility should fall slightly more to you in contributions toward it. I also tend to scoff slightly at street presence being used in a reason for war, it's a fallback when reasoning is short and always has been. Implore away that the street presence was integral in this case but I will refute it every day of the week. Someone can quite happily make 0 posts and run a city exceptionally well and keep it alive for months as long as relations are good with other city heads. We've seen plenty of examples of that.

Paraphrasing from third party conversations? Seriously? I don't even think I want to go into that. That's a can of worms that I don't want to open, simply because it's a fairly atrocious method of "proof". I also have had conversations with Sinfest and if we are to take that conversation as gospel then this should be too except I wont paraphrase, I'll summarise.

Sinfest was interested in the growth of Philadelphia and he had been approached by a fellow city head because they wanted their own city and wanted to move to the city that was given to the cities of Philadelphia and Detroit. Understandable Sinfest declined this as it was not in the interests of his city, however the persistence of the fellow PH city head meant that Sinfest was considering it. Would it not make more sense for someone loyal to the city, a crewleader no less, to accept the negative reply and concentrate on continuing to build the city he was a valued part of? Or should he take this negatively and shoot the city head but a few days later?

I understand most of that is highly negative and contradicts the original explanation, but I simply couldn't help myself than to refute claims of reasoning behind a coup d'etat which have flaws like this. On the plus side, congratulations on gaining your own city.

doogle listens to the details of the speech given, and nods in approval as Barnacle begins to speak...

Barnacle and I share much of the same views on the reasoning behind the violence, nearly right down to the T.  Still, it is respectable that you had an opinion and the capability to act, and did. I wish you luck on your new position as city head, and look to see more street presence from Philly as it moves forward in this world!

After listening to everybody put in their two cents, Sammy steps forward

"I also happen to agree with Barnacle here. The reasons you have gave, are at best, questionable. I'm not going to start repeating what Barnacle said, he has said it better than I ever could. I commend him for having the balls to come out here and say it in all honesty."

Sammy sighs, and continues.

"However, what's done is done, if you felt it right to remove Sinfest, then bravo for going through with it and doing what you thought was right. I was you luck in your future as the head of Philadelphia."

Sammy tips his hat, and moves back into the crowd.

After taking a long drag of his cigar, Brian exhales slowly.

"I have to agree with Barnacle and the others.I am not sure if that was the best move but if you feel it was and will help the city then maybe it was."

Scratches his head.

"I just confused myself I believe.Ah whatver I am more metal."

Marston listens to the men that speak before him, and ponders for a moment with his own thoughts on the matter before speaking.

I think a lot of people can see where Barnacle is coming from with his opinion... But while the reasons stated in this speech may appear dubious, it is clear there was no cohesion between the two leaders in Philadelphia.

It is sad to see that it led to the conclusion that we saw earlier today, but it was a difficult situation they were put into in Philadelphia. From this result and the events seen in Detroit recently, we can all see that these forced relationships don't always work out, and can occasionally get very ugly.

However, Corbin took the initiative today and has now taken complete control of the city. Hopefully now that there is unity at the top level of Philadelphia's infrastructure they have a stable foundation that they can build upon. I wish Corbin the best of luck in leading this endeavour.

Rest in peace Don Sinfest...

Marston tips his hat then leaves.

The -ICEMAN- walking in a flashy pinstiped suit,follows the others with head faced down..unbelievabla.

From my previous reply, it's obvious I do not agree with Barnacle and so many others. I'm going to give my opinion on a lot of what Barnacle has said because it was actually a thought out opinion. It's easy to throw your two cents in and say that was wrong, Barnacles right, I agree with him. Then sum it all up with "well, if you thought it was the best, then it was the best.". Thank you for your excellent opinion that you can't even hold to.

One, this was not a war. It was a take over. I do not see Sinfest's members being picked off by the remainder of Philadelphia, I do not see them being targeted during the "war" or after. I see them on a protections list posted on our community boards.

Two, does it matter the reasons? Honestly it doesn't. Corbin believed that the take down of Sinfest was best for the city and he's clearly stated that. He came out here and told us exactly that. He didn't have to do that.

We can all have an opinion if those reasons are the true reasons, but it doesn't really matter. Would it make everyone happier if Mr. Russell had declared that Sinfest was killing off his members to build his gun or that he was killing orphans? Do I have to remind everyone that we are mobsters, hungry for money and power? It's not like Mr. Russell took out the President. This is what we do! This is how we live. This is why we steal purses from little old ladies. Is someone going to come out here and tell me that is wrong as well? I hope not.

A city head should lead by example. If he makes no appearances in the streets how can he expect anyone else to put the effort he doesn't want to do himself? As city head it's his responsibility to run a productive machine. If he falls short of that because he's paranoid of mistrust there's a problem right?

I also don't think that having a higher member count determines how much activity you give the streets. So crew leader Fred, with five members, can take the operation of his lips sealed shut, but Sally with 50 members must grace us with her presence every hour. That doesn't make any sense. Yes, we have seen mute crew leaders run excellent crews, but more often those mute crew leaders don't run great crews. They also fall mute in their own crew. In this case, we speak of the city head. I can only assume that if he didn't grace the streets ever then he doesn't give his city the time of day.

Sinfest may have only had one goal when he was given the opportunity to run his own city and that goal to bring up Philadelphia from whatever ruins it had been left it. But it's easy to become distracted from your goals, to put your own personal goals in front of your crews or in front of the city you have control over. Sinfest was given a wonderful opportunity and it seems that he didn't take it to it's full advantage. We can only hope that Mr. Russell will.

It is always sad to see paranoia destroy and divide a city.  Trust is key in this business, and without that you will permanently be on shaky foundations.  I understand from a few times communicating with Sinfest he had his own plan as city head and wanted to promote business district among his members.  Unfortunately his plan seems to have created a level of isolation in this case.

Aaron looks to his bodyguard and hands him a gun.

Do me a favor and hold this will ya Joe?

Steps out and takes a long swig from his silver flask.

Look, I'm tired, this business pulled me out of my warm bed, and I havn't slept since. Now, what this looks like is lots of people wanting to raise a fuss because Corbin did what he thought was best. I've seen words such as paranoia tossed around, and people who sound like they just want to incite hostility.

Takes another swig then puts the cap back on his flask as he stuff it in his coat.

Now look, to be completely honest, Corbin was not required to come out with an explanation, in fact, I would have advised against it, because, as it was stated before, Philly's business is Philly's alone and nobody in Philly should have to answer to anyone outside of Philly for what goes on inside our city, and the fact that Corbin came out and told the world, as a courtesy to everyone who might have questions, says a lot of good things about the man, and further says he shouldn't be greeted with a barrage of insults over the whole business.

Now I understand how it all looks, really I do, and even if you call it paranoia, when in fact there was reasonable evidence that Sinfest would have turned and done the same at the drop of a hat. Corbin did was was in the best intrest of protecting his own family here.

Now, I'd like to look at also, the fact that Corbin did this with as LITTLE bloodshed as possible. He kept it simple, he kept it clean, and most of all he did it by the book. He killed the family's leadership and offered sanctuary to the rest, unlike the wars we've seen recently in our streets where EVERY member of the city was wiped out, regardless of rank or standing inside the family. Corbin conducted this war professionally and precisely, rather than going into a city blazing guns at every thing that moved. This again reinforces my faith in Corbin's decision making and character. I say it now, if Corbin believes this was right, then it was right, and I'll defend it from here on out.

If anything about this whole event was wrong, it would be that members of other cities stuck their nose where it doesn't need to be by flinging insults at Corbin for doing what he feals is right.

Walks back to Joe and takes his gun then turns to stand against the wall near Corbin.

Maybe my memory fails me but I didn't hear any insults here. And the word paranoia was used to describe Sinfest's lack of trust in his underboss.

I don't think you understood the questionings. There were people questioning the speech, but not in the way you thought.

Civ steps out of his limosine with great effort... he grunts has he leans againts his cane, straightening his knees. He pushes one of his bodyguards as he steps out of the car...

" I am old for gods sakes, not crippled! You morron!" He walks towards Corbin... taps him on his shoulder and turns to the ground...

" Well, Corbin my friend... who would have known you would have the balls to... well..."

Civ looks at the crowd, both hands with palms facing them...

" The man had to clean his laundry... what else can we say. Philly is philly... Corbin came out here and explained his reasons. Do i agree? Well... coming out here and state his reasons was never required. It is not our concern what goes on within the city. No disrespect to Don Sinfest of course, the man has earned at least that. As for Corbin's reasons, well... if i was in philly at the time and was aware of all the facts... maybe i would of stood by what Corbin did. Or maybe not... i will not take sides on what went on in a different city that is for sure. I do however trust that Corbin will do fine in Philly. He certainly has changed the face of the city as we speak. "

Civ turns around and shakes CorbinRussell's hand and walks back to his limo, not looking at his bodyguard...

Sam had been out walking after some rather exhausting physical love with a fine figure of a woman with an appetite that rivalled his own. Normally a brave sexual combatant, Sam was on the point of wondering if he'd met his match when he happened across a sizeable gathering around CorbinRussell. Intrigued he stopped and listened to the initial speech and subsequent speakers offering their opinions.

With one or two points still gnawing at his inquisitive mind, Sam decided to add his voice.

Corbin, I would like to say that whatever you decided to do within your city is your city's business. Unless your city is under the governance of another city and subject to it's judgements then you are free to carry on as you see fit. As for your reasons for doing so, they are yours. I wouldn't want to speculate on snippets of private conversations as they can all too often be misinterpreted or used out of context for specific aims.

I would however, like to commend you on your principals about street presence. My family line has always placed a heavy emphasis on the importance of street presence in any mobster but especially in leaders. I and many like me have always found it most important for the figure heads of our community to be present among us, giving their opinions and insights into the mechanisms of our world. Such commentaries can be invaluable for young mobsters and can be very constructive in helping the formulation of new ideas and progression into the ever evolving future. With such voices and opinions being so important, I would just like to raise one last point...

Sam took a small nip from a silver hip flask before finishing.

I hope you will be leading by the example you just shot your city head for lacking. Outside of the immeasurable credit that must go to you for coming to these streets with such a lengthy speech so soon after Sinfest died. Really, an amazing body of work in structure and delivery to be put together in just three minutes. Bravo. Given that you have started only three other conversations in these streets during your entire life and those related to accepting your own auth, your move and the auth of another, I look forward to you venturing opinions on other subjects. Given the restriction of topic you have so far seen fit to comment on, you have a virtually limitless scope for future debate. I look forward to them as the days to come unfold.

Taking another nip from his flask, he pushed it back inside the silk pocket of his jacket, tipped his hat respectfully at the gathering and went on his way.

I have to say, Corbin here has just gained a lot of respect from me. I may be from another city and my respect may not mean much to anyone but jesus, this guy deserves some credit atleast.

It takes a lot of balls to see your leaders downfalls and then act apon it. It takes a lot of balls to shoot someone who was indeed authed in to his own city by our only Godfather.

As for the points raised... No matter what Corbin's reasoning was or how he went about doing the dirty deed the fact of the matter is he had his reasons and to him they were justified. Way to often in our time do we see people not taking action against something that they find wrong. Not "Ranking up and doing something about it" as so many of you out there would usually sprout. When it comes to the bottom line, Corbin did just that. He done something about it. Rather than sitting, bitching and whining about how "I don't like how this is done" and "I don't trust him or like him".

As much as this may be none of my business and certainly isn't any of Las Vegas's business I would still like to say that I think CorbinRussel has done the right thing here. Whether his reasons be right or wrong in the eyes of the majority he still acted on what he believed in with out any pussy footing about. That on it's own is commendable.

Thank you Aaron for the comments you provided. I’ll start off by saying I can’t understand how this matter pulled a Wise Guy out of his bed and prevents him from sleeping. Why you’re riled up about the matter is beyond me. Other than caring about your Crew Leader and current home of residence, I can’t see how much you could be directly involved, as if there is a threat to you or anyone in Philly from outside cities. You’re speaking as if a few faces in the crowd are throwing insults towards your leadership...I do not feel this is the case. Perhaps what you are drinking in that flask is altering your judgment.

You mentioned Corbin was not required to come out and explain his reasons. This is true, but he did. Further, an educated gentlemen such as yourself surely realizes it is in the best interest of the city to come explain to the rest of the world the events that took place – wouldn’t want anyone assuming you’re a loose cannon and therefore dangerous to others outside of Philadelphia. Thanks to his detailed explanation, this isn’t the case. In fact, a majority of us who commented commended him on his decisiveness and wished for nothing but the best for his city.

 You mentioned nobody in Philadelphia should have to answer to anyone outside of Philadelphia. This is also true. One thing to keep in mind though, is that others may also do what is necessary or what they believe is best for their city. As I mentioned before, I think Corbin & Philly did the appropriate thing by informing the public on the happenings. I do not see this as Philly “answering to anyone” – I see this as an action that should have been expected. A courtesy to the community? Perhaps. Mutually beneficial for Philadelphia? Absolutely.

To say Philadelphia residents were in danger of being off’d by their own city head is questionable. Those in power are empowered by those beneath them. But again, it was Corbin’s call and he did what he felt was necessary whether anyone agrees with it or not.  

Your comments about minimal violence are spot on. Whether he didn’t scorch the each for the sake of more members remaining in Philly alive (see aforementioned empowerment), or because he has a kind heart doesn’t matter in this case. It has worked out in his favor up to this point and again I commend him on the decisive actions.

The closing comment about other cities sticking their nose where it doesn’t belong was already addressed in my response to you. Further, and as Alistair mentioned, I see no insults being flung in the direction of your city or your crew leader.

Please do not take my response as an attack; I’m merely being as analytical as you were in your own reply. Again, I applaud you for standing up for your upper structure and Philly, though I do not think it was necessary, as there is no ill-will being displayed here. 

A shy, slim young lady in a mid-thigh lengthed deep purple dress shyly nudges her way to the front of the crowd. Coming towards the front of the crowd, she gentley clears her throat.

Although I know little of the decision that was made recently, and was as surprised as any of us on these streets to hear of the passing of Sinfest, I feel it important to say that, as a proud member of Mr Russell's crew over the last few months, I do not believe that he would have undertaken the actions he did unless he really and truely felt that it was in the best interests of Philadelphia. Although doubt has been cast upon his reasoning, I am confident in my belief that Mr Russell believes he can offer all of us in Philadelphia a brighter and more secure future.

With that said, may Don Sinfest Rest In Peace, and his future sons enjoy good luck.

Nicola blushes as she makes a shy retreat from the crowd, and disappears back onto the streets.