Rhakios was reading a journal in his hands with interest, where he refused to take his eyes away from the faded pages. His mouth hung slightly open as he read through the lines and kept his seat on the steps of the local courthouse. Rhakios wasn't anyone special, nor did he think he was any kind of hotshot around these parts.

He was just a squire.

This squire liked to use his spare time to read and his interest was in world history. It was easy to realize that there were so many before us, and there would be many more after us... Times, those are what really change. A lot of things stay the same but there is always one thing that is for certain... Time will change everything. Whether it's looking into the years before us or patiently waiting for the years after us, everything will change at some point. No exaggeration on 'everything'.

After reading the article, he looked up, still in awe and his mind turning the wheels to think more in depth. Rhakios stood up, the journal still in his hand and looked towards the people walking along the sidewalk. After coughing to them loudly, he received some of their attention. When he spoke his first words, more stopped walking to listen to what he had to say.

"Umm... Good evening. Let me begin by saying that my ancestors have been around for some time now, at least in my eyes. Not that long, but long enough to where I'm comfortable with this world. There was a long stint of time that my bloodline wasn't seen around, (in a world much like this one) and the day I returned.... I was shocked like many others. 'Oh my, have the times changed' was my first thought. I accepted that sometimes change was good and continued on my way. Now, here I am today, and I have the luxury to say that my bloodline of late has been more noticed that when it first started. The first ever ancestor that found a country like this one, was never remembered... Except from a select few that loved him dearly and kept him close to their hearts.

Not that any of this really matters, just a little background history lesson on myself and the extent of my disappearance in that time frame. As well as I have seen a lot of things in my time here and there. Just when you don't things can get any crazier, they do. Always expect the unexpected. Most of us have our own views on how to approach certain situations. Well, recently I was reading through some of the history here... I found something very interesting, something I LOVED! It moved me literally and it wasn't even an emotional speech. It made me miss the way things use to be and the creativity put into that. That's not a stab at leadership today, and if it were, I would have to put my own bloodline in blame for that also. So before anyone takes anything offensively, that's not the case... It just made me miss the 'old days' as they say.

Let me show you the clipping from the article I read."

Self-Imposed Shooting Ban

Started by: ThomasRourke at Aug 05, '09 19:37

 

I'm going to keep this brief. An embarrassing thing happened today; Mikhail Kamarov of the Flying Monkeys decided that he was no longer suited for this life and instead of doing everyone a favor and killing himself, he decided to take out an innocent bystander in the form of Edward Rossi, Godfather Marietta's Left Hand Man. Kamarov is a gentleman who had previously gone by the moniker Bruno D, a persistent fuck up with a constant and inexplicable ax to grind against Detroit.

I believe in the leadership of Deimne, he is as quick with punishments as I am and doesn't make excuses regarding any mistakes that occur in his family, but sometimes no matter how hard you try as a leader, people will carry out their own missions without regard for those around them. We've seen it time and again with the likes of VivaLaTeQ, IllFated, etc. who decide that the future of their family can take a backseat to their attempts at personal fame and glory.

Normally, as city heads, we accept the terms of what the offended party asks as compensation, but I'm tired of that, and am taking a proactive stance on this. Until further notice, all members of Deimne's family are banned from shooting unsponsoreds (be they active or inactive) in the city of Detroit. I think it would be a slap in the face for that city to lose their Left Hand Man and have the family responsible in there working on their skillset moments later. This is effective at 23:59 tonight (August 5th).

I hate having to set sanctions on a figurehead such as Deimne who I admire greatly, but it is time that everyone learns there are consequences when one person decides to break from the pack. I really hope in the future, when anyone who sees shooting a high ranking city member as an opportunity that can't be passed up, they immediately think back to this and the repercussions it will have on their friends and family.

Rhakios coughed into his sleeve and smiled as he passed around the article clipping to the crowd so they could take a better look at it.

"A punishment was dealt out and rank was taken very seriously. I'm not going to stand up here and act like I know anything about the history, because I don't know much at all to be truthful. All I know is what I find on my own or stories told me by others. Which in most cases can become usually bias, so it's nice to see the hard copy of some of the events. Take my own opinion of it. Granted, I don't know any of the gentlemen mentioned or presenting this speech, so it doesn't really cloud my judgement on the occasion.

However, this speech was an interesting read. It didn't have to be long to have an impact or effect its quality and it somewhat contained some creativity as well. I think it's safe to say we don't see many things like this anymore. We don't see many rules or punishments then what has become accustomed to what we do regularly in everyday life now. Most things usually fall along the lines of demotion, compensation, or death... Sometimes all three. Usually the same rules put in place of the cities and districts, most of us could recite them at heart. Not because we have memorized them personally, but it's what had become the norm. It's not everyday we see a creative punishment, or reward for that matter, instead of the options we've became use to.

I don't really have any questions, I just wanted to leave the topic open for discussion or comment. I think it's nice to not forget our history as it repeats itself many times, or in some cases, never. Some of the same things are carried out and debated over. Personally, I like seeing things like this and I value its own impact for its time. It brought things to a much more 'mafia level' as I would put it. A Godmother's LH was shot and instead of warring them or asking for only compensation, they sat down and came up with a punishment that was agreed upon. Or at least, that's how I see it as I don't know the history of what happened before or after these events.

Sooo.... Lets talk some history?"

He stood there with a hand in his pocket and looked towards the people, eagerly waiting for comments.

I am very very much interested in hearing some history, but my line is still one of the newest around and thus doesn't have stories to tell.

Fisk eyed the article, a glimmer of admiration flashed across his gaze.

"I recall hearing of this individual, my family were lucky to be in these United States during that era. Marietta Rossi is another such name I have heard was somewhat notorious."

Passing the article around, Fisk's hands found his pockets. He stood tall and patiently, listening intently to those around. 

"I must admit, I too am keen to hear of some other iconic moments that has shaped our communities to the standards they are this day."

Ah. That old dog ThomasRurke. If ever there as a man that as in a position of power that divided opinion. At the time I remember being told there was a lot of whispering in dark corners of the coffee shops, demanding that something was done about this, how it could not stand. For the life of me I cannot remember if this caused any conflict or not?

A memory I have, when I was a young lad was of Marietta. She was cursed by me 'daa who had returned to the Emerald Isle after seeing many of his friends slaughtered at the hands of the 'old boot' There was a grudging respect from him over time but he went to his death bed never forgiving what she had done.

A good example of what caused his strife, but her success, was the Detriot Death Tax. She introduced a tax to limit the shooting of people within her city limits without license. This license cost $2 million for a Family pass or $420,000 for a secret single hitter pass.

Many people refused point blank to play it so me father said. He said it caused her popularity to take a nose dive but it also brought her an incredible amount of money which she distributed to her organisation and allowed her to make them a force, which realistically, could never be completely be finished off.

In fact it was that successful, when I was a teenager and had ordered American newspapers to be sent to Dublin so I could track the families I would hope to join, I saw DavyJones, TheDean and Underdog also introduced a death tax. But then they taxed everything but perhaps that a story for another time..

What would a secret hitter be? If someone was stealth why bother to pay at all? Was this enforced solely via witness statements?

I would imagine so, but, that would be down to individual, risk vs reward! it was served as a warning, and it was pretty blatant that should this rule be abused, what the outcome would have been, even for the almighty Deimne.  

As for the shooting tax as a whole, i thought it was a genius move when marrietta enforced it, back then, the world was different, all we had was one city that wasnt split up into districts and most, fresh off the boat would-be-gangsters would find themself in one specific city. So most who of these ia bums who decided to sit and do nothing for a whole week, would all be left in this city. So it made absolute sense and a really good move to impose a shooting tax when in the city, as most hitmen, would camp here looking for the opportunity to kill. 

I appluaded it then, and i still applaud the move today.

There was only one city or only one heavily populated city?

One heavily populated city,Topanga. The number of IAs was(and still is?) directly proportional to the number of mobsters per city. Therefore, it was a business masterstroke to tax their deaths.

there where 6 cities, possibly 7 i can not remember if st louis had been introduced at this point! 

(OOC, i hate doing this but im struggling to rp this in. when new people signed up on an account it would automatically put them in a city, new poeple would not change, so a lot of these IA's ended up here. therefore a lot of people wouold be camping in the city, waiting for these accounts to turns IA. Thats why the tax was introduced because of the amount of heavy traffic that used the city)

There where six cities I believe, Detroit being the strongest, New York, Philadelphia, New Orleans, Los Angeles, and Las Vegas. No Chicago, and I remember St. Louis coming soon after

Detroit was the most populated, which meant it also had the most ia. So someone made a lot of money

Rhakios stood around and listened to the variety of people discussing the events and then more. There was no doubt about how some people easily remembered what happened while others were thirsty to hear more, including himself. He first turned his attention to Rob and spoke.

"You know, I have to agree with you to some degree on that. I have heard many say that they would change the world for the better in their eyes if ever given the chance. Some people step up to that, and others don't. Change, change, change. It comes eventually, but under whose watch? What I seen in the article's speech was Thomas taking a firm stand against something he didn't consider fair to happen to a Godmother's LHM, and makes a lovely point for it at that!

I honestly can't see anything wrong when he claims it would have been a slap in the face for the family to be working as if nothing ever happened in the offended city. I like it actually. It makes sense to me and I appreciate that he was willing to think outside the box to find an acceptable punishment. Did it effect business? Of course, good for others and bad for those who were limited to do business in the city... But that's the price we pay in the mafia sometimes."

He then nods and turns his head around to face south-paw and Brendan. After listening to them, Rhakios smiled to them both and responded.

"Detroit Death Tax? That certainly sparks my interest. I have seen some things like that tried to be pulled off, but never really worked out in their favor. I've also seen a city try to tax members that stayed in the city overnight. Adding more rules might make more tension, but does that also mean it makes for more excitement? More love and hate from those who are watching in from outside and those who are under your wing?

Some of the things that happen, some of us hate it for the moment... But that's all it lasts is that short time frame where it pisses you off, while then months down the line you look back at it and laugh. Then there are some of us who hold those same grudges and never are able to let them go. That's all part of this life. However, when I first read the self imposed shooting ban, it brought an awe back into the way things use to happen and be ran by the leaders of that time.

With that said... I'm going to pull out another article clipping if no one is opposed?"

Los Angeles Tax

Started by: Premier at Aug 23, '09 23:07

Approaching the streets, now surrounded by the people of his fair city, and also  of member's visiting his sunny home.

Hello all, How is everyone today?

Not knowing if they should answer and interupt the Godfather they all stay silent.

Holding a piece of paper in his hand he looks at it then back at the people

Today Godfather Sidious came to the fine streets and informed everyone of his new taxation program to enter his fair city of Chicago.

Very fair indeed for me, seeing as i get in free.  On the other hand, my captains have to pay a hefty amount to visit Chicago, and as we know, Gaius does love that Chicago deep dish pizza, from Al's.

Worth it?  I can't say it is. So to help my Captains out, i am going to impliment a tax, that will only affect members of Chicago crime families.

Starting on August 31st if you are from a Chicago family, you will be taxed to enter out city.

One Person=300,000 per week

Whole Crew= 1,000,000 per week.

1st offense=500,000

2nd offense=1,000,000

3rd offense= death

Failure to make good on payment within 24 hours will warrant action.

"Oh my, oh my... When I found this a while back, it was an article I ripped out of the local library and tucked into my pocket. Once again, I know nothing of this history. None of the events that took place before or after, nor any of the people involved personally. Seems that a tax speech was made earlier in the day and Prem countered with one of his own on a single city. You can tell that the speech was to come off as serious and served a right purpose for Premier and his own. If tensions weren't tight, I'm sure they were after this speech. Today it's something we can smile about and be lucky that things like this actually did happen to shape our history. That we can talk about it and read it in the history books if we like.

With L.A. and Chicago taxing each other, I would feel that it eventually cancelled each other out. Maybe, in more than one way?

You know what I see in this speech though? I see that Premier cared about his captains and didn't take a liking to them being taxed; found it unfair. So instead of standing around and getting taxed, he imposed a rule of his own. Without knowing the ins and outs, I can't say I blame him. He made a decision and stuck with it because of a choice that another leader had made. I'm interested to know how the other cities reacted to these announcements at the time?"

He pulls out a cigarette, hoping for a more in depth discussion.

"Rich memories of a history long forgotten by my lineage. The Riot! was where my family took root in this country, where they grew and prospered. Such was the number of years between my ancestors arrival on these shores, our records of that time are broken or lost"

Interestingly, I think opinions on a topic like this will vary according to what one's definition of 'our thing' is. For me, I am a simple Frenchman. There is no time for sentimentality in my book; no time for throwbacks to the 'old country', the other life, that can sometimes hold us back. Too many of these ol' Italian Moustache Petes will put tradition and pride before anything else and I think that this can be bad for business, no? To me, Mafia is about one thing: pursuit of the almighty dollar. We do not place ourselves in the hands of the lawmaker because we know we can achieve more if we disregard what he says, it is that simple.

For others, it is not about money - it is something more. They would rather burn every last cent than the compromise on their morals; a fine and commendable stance, but not one for a boy from Marseille, I think. When some think of our thing, they think not of the money or the simple structure but of the romanticism and style; the pomp and circumstance that sets us apart from other criminal gangs. They think of the tales that legends are made of, the grand statements made; the symbolism that is more gaudy than anything you'd see in a Catholic Church!

Why is this relevant? Well, my opinion was that in yesteryear there was perhaps not so much difference in the bold statement or the pragmatic solution. If a problem arose, dealing with it in public with a memorable act was often far more valuable than any private financial recompense that could be offered.

Today? That is not the case, I think. I talk of being a pragmatic man but there are still concepts I hold dear, like Ómerta, and so I will not discuss specifics; but let me tell you that some of the sums that are offered as a request for forgiveness for some transgression can be too big to ignore.

If someone wrongs you, your natural response would be retribution. If you are pickpocketed and you see the assailant, you wish to mug them - what would change your mind. A dollar? Of course not. A thousand? Not even. Yet some people are happy just to receive their money back. Would $5,000 quench your thirst for vengeance, then? If you multiplied that by 10, or 20 then I'm sure we would eventually reach a figure to make you forgive and forget, no?

My point is that every man has his price. We all have a figure and if you don't know yours you just haven't been offered enough money yet. The difference we have between now and the old days? Back then there was not so much money, sacrificing a certain compensation fee to make a public declaration was easy when the money was trifling. Now it is not so easy as money is in abundance. Look at Premeir's tax, $1,000,000 per week for the crew? A pittance today when the average mobster on our streets has over $2 million in their account - and that's just the average mobster! It is a simple fact that when a transgression occurs and a large enough amount is offered in restitution, a Crewleader who does what is right by his crew will swallow their pride and take the money.

Is this a good or a bad thing? I'll refer you to my opening comments; it rather depends on how you view 'our thing'.

Silver flashed against black shantung silk as the flask was nestled securely back in the pocket of his coat. The weight always a reassuring warmth against hipbone; a cure-all for whatever storms occurred. Truth be told you could always sucker punch life right in the yarbles given enough ethanol content.

He shot his cuffs with a casual elegance, letting the Tanzini cuff links show out. A gesture aimed at assisting him in portraying the "swell dresser" he was posing as. He nodded along listening to the conversations around him. Stories of legendary times, and the men and women who built cities and empires. Waiting for a break in the conversation, he turns to Rhakios and Brendan.

"The infamous Detroit Death tax-  wasn't that something. Some say that was a stroke of genius. Others would argue that it was exploitation. Whichever side of the fence you found yourself on, you had to respect someone with the gravitas to pull that off".

A brief pause and a crooked smile; arching an eyebrow he continues.

"One thing to keep in mind is that the coppers were a little easier to pay off in some cities then others back then. Some lusted after the luxuries that couldn't be afforded on a law dogs salary. Others were just plain lazy. Some, they was as bad as us. playing both sides".

"Couple of them cities though had some real law-n-order types walking the beat. You couldn't just whiskey stumble off the boat and make money hand over fist. Nah, you had to work your way up and get good at your particular brand of crooked cash collecting to have any real chance at it. The idealists had it out for us. You'da thunk that scratch was coming out of their own pockets. Putting that tax to work in a city that was one of the easier ones to do business in was just plain smart".

Shakes his head and settles back into alcohol-induced reverie.