Current State of Extorting Businesses

[Garras Up]

On 6/28/2020 at 11:57 AM, Aaron_Mancuso said:

The problem isn't with the extortionist the problem is with the people being extorted. If your character is too scared to go to the cops... don't and get extorted, its a roleplay server you can RP fear and loosing a couple bucks because you want to live, with that being said, we're in 2020 I doubt an OCG will merk you for calling the cops lol unless they're Albanian or MS-13 ETC (groups that don't really care about getting caught) , that's an easy RICO case. We have snitches from the 2000s running around New York and LA today like nothing happened, its very uncommon that you'd get killed but then again that's a decision YOUR character has to make because you can't control how people react, somebody might be dumb and do something stupid and they would have to deal with the consequence IC.

exactly.

[Torlo]

Just now, eTaylor said:

Extortion definitely happens in 2020. But crime exists because of opportunity, and the current environment permits the stupid extortion we have now. It’s not that people want to be an old school wise guy, it’s just that it works and it’s easy. This is a beautiful example of “change the way people play”. If you want to change this it shouldn’t be so stupidly easy to extort a huge chain, owners should have recourse and the police should be able to hand down harsh punishments and easy convictions. 

You're definitely right, in the real world as the previous poster had stated the FBI would have your whole crew arrested within weeks if you tried to extort every 7/11 or liquor store in town. But on here, police can almost do nothing about it and extortion will only get you maybe a few days in prison, after which your legal character will have a Ck approved for them. As legal rpers we can do nothing, it's unrealistic. 

[eTaylor]

Just now, Torlo said:

You're definitely right, in the real world as the previous poster had stated the FBI would have your whole crew arrested within weeks if you tried to extort every 7/11 or liquor store in town. But on here, police can almost do nothing about it and extortion will only get you maybe a few days in prison, after which your legal character will have a Ck approved for them. As legal rpers we can do nothing, it's unrealistic. 

You have a store full of cameras in a nice neighborhood, it shouldn’t be so difficult for police to do something. The punishment should be harsher, and police should have more options for their investigations. You don’t need the FIB, it’s not profitable to do extortion IRL the way people do IG because of legal consequences but we lack that. Adding significant legal consequences would be a better start than just letting everyone CK each other

[Ink]

Like, here's the thing. I'd be more with extortion roleplay if the following were in effect:

• The consequences for extortion were in place and fell predominantly on the shoulders of the faction engaging in the extortion. 
• Legal characters who are just trying to contribute actual, constructive roleplay to the server which makes GTA:W an engaging world to play in for everyone weren't the ones who shouldered the entirety of the IC and OOC risk.

I don't think Jimmy Minestrone and Tony Spaghettio would be as interested in shaking down a business for 3k/week if the consequence for getting caught was that their character would be sentenced to 12 years in prison with parole only after 10, effectively CKing their own character. I don't think Dragomir and Marko Rakia would be really interested in chasing down and breaking the legs of a shop owner if it meant them and all their homeboys would have the FBI breathing down their necks, wire-tapping all their businesses, watching all their bank transactions, gaining access to their phone conversations and text message history, then raiding them all and arresting half the organization for between 5 years to 45 years each. 

I also don't think it's reasonable that a legal roleplayer who has done nothing but try to portray a realistic human being living in Los Angeles in 2020 and who has gone above and beyond in putting forth the OOC and IC effort to create a business which contributes vibrancy to their city has to know for a fact that they will be approached by 4 different mafias who each will harass them, ruin their roleplay, and hijack their character's entire development to loot them for absurd amounts of e-maniez and then CK them for being seen talking to the police at any point. 

It's stupid. It's toxic. It's a detriment to this RP community. It's unrealistic. It's bad roleplay, both in terms of narrative and in terms of OOC etiquette. And most of all, it's just really boring. 

[Torlo]

Just now, eTaylor said:

You have a store full of cameras in a nice neighborhood, it shouldn’t be so difficult for police to do something. The punishment should be harsher, and police should have more options for their investigations. You don’t need the FIB, it’s not profitable to do extortion IRL the way people do IG because of legal consequences but we lack that. Adding significant legal consequences would be a better start than just letting everyone CK each other

When the 24/7 in Vespucci canals started to be extorted we could do nothing to prove it, we were not allowed to rp any audio recordings on our cctv which in the end made it impossible for us to prove anything to the police. We did decide to record conversations secretly via our phones, but it certainly didn't help considering we had no interest in being cked after getting a mobster arrested for a few days. 

[eTaylor]

Just now, Torlo said:

When the 24/7 in Vespucci canals started to be extorted we could do nothing to prove it, we were not allowed to rp any audio recordings on our cctv which in the end made it impossible for us to prove anything to the police. We did decide to record conversations secretly via our phones, but it certainly didn't help considering we had no interest in being cked after getting a mobster arrested for a few days. 

It really shouldn’t be that easy. 

[Drew McCallum]

Just now, Ink said:

has to know for a fact that they will be approached by 4 different mafias who each will harass them, ruin their roleplay, and hijack their character's entire development to loot them for absurd amounts of e-maniez and then CK them for being seen talking to the police at any point. 

This here is absolutely incorrect. 
 

When extortion happens it’s not something to get extreme amounts of monetary compensation, but instead to control a certain area of the map, I know this as I am part of a faction who does this successfully, it’s not about getting 100k a week or whatever absurd amount people think.

 

Extortion is usually well portrayed and realistic, if an organised crime operates within a certain area and they have a business that operates there, they are going to be taxing it there, it happens in real life, it is just the way it is.

[Torlo]

Just now, eTaylor said:

It really shouldn’t be that easy. 

Even if the situation wasn't a ck they would have simply made it impossible to rp at our business at all without having to deal with thugs coming around every day, multiple times per day when the police weren't around. Unless we literally had an armed security guard (which we never did because it looks really stupid in a 24/7) we would have no choice but to pay them, as the ic consequences of doing these things is little to none. 

[Wolfhound]

Just now, Drew McCallum said:

This here is absolutely incorrect. 
 

When extortion happens it’s not something to get extreme amounts of monetary compensation, but instead to control a certain area of the map, I know this as I am part of a faction who does this successfully, it’s not about getting 100k a week or whatever absurd amount people think.

 

Extortion is usually well portrayed and realistic, if an organised crime operates within a certain area and they have a business that operates there, they are going to be taxing it there, it happens in real life, it is just the way it is.

 

While this is correct about extortion, here comes another question: Why would a mafia based in Vinewood come down to a 24/7 in a poorer neighborhood such as Vespucci where they pretty much won't fufill their end of the bargain about protection and only go there to obviously bully the store clerks for easy pickings?

Edited June 29, 2020 by Wolfhound

[Akaya]

I just wanna call the cops and sue people like a normal person would do without getting fucking CK'd.  ?