Syndicates

Withmore City attracts criminal enterprises as readily as it attracts mega-corporations. Groups from across Earth and beyond operate in the city, but the Japanese Yakuza, Russian Bratva, American Mafia, and Chinese Triads have particularly notable footholds. They have divided parts of Red Sector among their interests, though arrangements over territory and business are often short-lived.

Business and Influence

Syndicates combine legitimate enterprises with illicit dealings. Incorporation allows them to participate openly in business without abandoning their criminal roots. Most have close relationships with one or more mega-corporations, enabling them to operate with minimal interference from corporate-controlled law enforcement.

Their local interests take different forms:

• The Yakuza have developed from a Japanese criminal organization into an international, multicultural corporate enterprise. They are alleged to control criminal activity and maintain a grip on Little Kyoto, alongside their legitimate interests and official council seat.
• The Bratva is a collective of Russian organized-crime groups with official, unofficial, and illegal business interests. Its local control centers on the Gulag, while the boundary between its legitimate and illicit business remains unclear.
• The Mafia's Withmore interests grew from Neo-York offshoots taking over businesses and criminal enterprises in San Mayo. It is notionally incorporated and holds a council seat, while continuing to oversee illegal operations.
• The Triads incorporated several criminal organizations and secret societies into a single syndicate. They exercise some control in Chinatown and maintain both legitimate and illegal interests.

Rivalry and Street Life

Disputes over business and territory make covert conflict between syndicates a persistent part of life in Red. Their influence extends beyond their own membership: immigrants may knowingly take part in their schemes or become unwitting instruments of a struggle they cannot see in full.

Syndicate influence also exists alongside the territorial claims of street gangs. Control of substantial enterprises and control of the pavement are not necessarily held by the same organization. The resulting relationships are contested and cannot be reduced to a permanent division of the sector.