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Conclusion to the Martorano-ETOC War


Bospy

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RESULT: MARTORANO PYRRHIC VICTORY

You have won, but at what cost?

The gargantuan struggle between organized crime giants Gezalian, Manjikian, and Martorano has come to a conclusion with a whimper. With no crescendo, no final blow, and no absolute winner, both sides limp back to their corners to survey the ring. The war was long and bloody - launched a month ago, it has claimed the lives of thirty-seven underworld figures in the city of Los Santos. 

 

Gezalian and Manjikian launched the conflict with the hopes of wiping out their rebellious Jovanovic vassal, but Jovanovic's trick was their long-term business partners in the Los Santos Cosa Nostra, or at least those that pledge fealty to Martorano. In fighting Martorano, Wuying Meng of Chinatown took immediate interest - he had little to lose and much to gain in taking the Italians down a peg. The beginnings of the conflict saw both Gezalian and Manjikian away on business in their homeland Armenia while their vassals in Abramov pulled the trigger too soon. A botched burglary attempt alerted Martorano to the intentions of their Eurasian rival - three dead hitmen by the police, snitched on by the vaunted Ronald Ganisa. Omerta was certainly dead if it came to saving yourself from death, but Ganisa would meet his fate by a Fukien hitman while leaving Pillbox Hospital. If not by them, then likely in prison. The offensive party immediately lost the momentum. Now, it was Martorano's turn to strike. Martorano's first strike in the war came against their own. A scout on a rooftop was shot by mistake. These two events would set the trend for the month of violence. Senseless killing in the underworld of Los Santos was nothing new, but this was not just senseless. The trend would soon show recklessness.

 

Gezalian had every intention of speeding back to the United States, or so the Eurasian organized crime circles say. Armenian news noted his capture by law enforcement authorities when he landed in France, some say it was related to an Interpol investigation into money laundering or arms trafficking. Whatever the case was, Gezalian was indisposed. Manjikian, knowing the war had begun and his partner-in-crime had just been seized chose to remain in Armenia, giving temporary command of the troops to the infamous Itay Waknine. Itay, however, soon came to be a lethargic commander.

 

The Eurasian strategy was not unified, intelligence was sparse, and they had operated under the assumption that their success in the war fought only months earlier would lead to further success here. Rallying allies to their cause, they came into the conflict overconfident. However, their allies, promised firearms and intelligence, soon realized neither was forthcoming in the absence of Gezalian and Manjikian. Most chose to withdraw from the conflict. Soon, all that was left was their vassals. Their independent ally in Wuying Meng soon proved to be unreliable when a failed attempt on Wuying Meng's life forced him to flee the states. The offensive party was largely directionless. 

 

Martorano's strategy was simple: permit their associates to fight independently in crews while promoting fighting by the Serbs. Later on, the Albanians joined the fray on Martorano's side, much to the chagrin of the Eurasians, who had killed off two such crews in the past. The Albanians, ever resilient, chose to align themselves with Martorano and their Balkan enemy. To them, the Eurasians were a greater threat.

 

 

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The Eurasian vassals operated independently, much like chivalrous knights rallying to a crusade. Fighting piecemeal, each laid individual strikes against Martorano and Jovanovic. Martorano was not content to sit defensive at the beginning of the conflict, taking many kills for themselves. The beginnings of the war was slow, hit-for-hit, with some group killings interspersed. Infamous names soon were laid to rest on each side. 
 

The conflict's senseless brutality was illustrated in the Pacific Bluffs shootout, one of the largest organized-crime related shootings in the United States in recent memory. Harkening back to the gang shootouts of Prohibition, two hunting parties stumbled into combat. Spurred on by Meng's intelligence and a set-up, Mizrahi hitmen set upon Martorano. Soon, only one man escaped alive. Eleven dead, and within a week the lone survivor was killed in a drive-by. A large Martorano hunting party composed of button men lay dead, and the two Mizrahi brothers from Israel. Having pledged fealty to the Eurasians, Mizrahi served as a suicidal hit-squad with unmatched tenacity. They paid the ultimate price and will certainly be remembered in Eurasian organized crime circles.

 

Law enforcement attention soon fell on the battles, but with little Eurasians hitmen left, most attention fell on the Serbs. The crosshairs of law enforcement extinguished any momentum either side had, save for a group-hit on Martorano hitmen. After that, once more, piecemeal hits were traded. Perhaps the most daring was conducted by one cunning Serb, lying in wait for three days in the den of the Chinese gangsters, killing an apartment manager with links to organized crime. His target had been Fang, Wuying's wife, but the target was wrong.
 

Soon enough, war began to take a toll on business. Both sides traded arsons, burning down lucrative rackets. Both sides took deep hits to their wallets. Undeniably, their bottom lines were beginning to suffer. Both sides traded equal casualties, both sides lost important lynchpins. Neither side was winning anything. What was the point of all of this? If it was for wealth, their income was tanking. If it was for conquest, both sides lost more territory than they gained.

 

In truth, the war was for status. Both sides viewed the war as a struggle for dominance over Los Santos. But neither side recognized that in their brutality, in their struggle, their vassals wriggled out from under them and began to assert themselves. In the shadows, other organized crime groups began to prosper while famous Martorano or Eurasian clubs were closed because of arsons. Now, new names were being whispered. While they bled, their invisible rivals grew fat off of riches. The winds in the underworld of Los Santos were decisively changing.

 

At the end of the day, organized crime fundamentally boils down to making money. The war reduced both side's ability to make money. But it was undeniable, in combat, that the Eurasians were bested - they had the offensive responsibility, and failed to capitalize. The Serbs maintained independence and Martorano was not dealt a decisive blow. But at the same time, Martorano did not capitalize on their momentum and finish the Eurasians off. Martorano's numbers dwindled, and now they are nothing more than a glorified crew. Much rebuilding must be done as a result of the war.

 

Thus, the war ends with a tactical Martorano victory, but strategically neither side has clearly bested the other. Both sides have come to this realization on their own terms and will certainly not settle it any further in the streets, for doing so would mean certain arrest and RICO trials. Rumors already swirl of indictments.

 

 

OOC CONCLUSION

 

This was a very hectic and turbulent time period for IFM, and I take full responsibility for the disorganization of the conflict at the very beginning. Nobody steps into this role and knows how to manage a 100 vs 100 player deathmatch. Over time, with the help of IFM, we reigned the conflict in and set strict rules. There's plenty of things we're going to ensure we do if we ever permit another CK war. I won't go into specific details, but obviously... no mask use, strictly no metagaming, and more uniform enforcement of rules. I undertook waaaay too much responsibility in moderating the war alone at the beginning. I thought preparing a huge spreadsheet and detailed CK war rules would be enough for factions to self-moderate, but that soon spiraled out of control. Then, I got help from IFM members @harrison, @honey. and @Naeno, and thank God I did.

 

Both sides engaged in plenty of slapfights with us in IFM, but some of the toxicity I witnessed by some of the illegal roleplayers involved reinforced that we need to clean up this community from play-to-win players. Some of the results below reflect that. I am out of patience with some of the players involved. I have no sympathy if you are upset with the ultimate outcome of the war. The conduct of some of the players involved has led IFM to our conclusions. I was absolutely disgusted by some of the comments made to members of the team helping to moderate this conflict. The people you were insulting are the same people who determined this outcome. You have nobody but yourselves to blame.

 

I understand this is just a minority, though, and the vast majority of the people involved are willing to accept the outcome and were here to have fun.

 

In total...

 

  • ETOC is reduced to the Gezalian-Manjikian Organization and is in group status. ETOC and their vassals lose supplier status (there was more than one faction with supplier status). Their vassals are now independent and any CK permissions they had are now revoked on their vassals.
  • Martorano retains official but may not refer to themselves as a crime family on an OOC basis until IFM determines suitable rebuilding has been done on an IC level - given the level of casualties they are in a rump, rebuilding state - IFM has set their OOC name to "Martorano Connection" but this may change dependent upon their request
  • The Serbians are reduced to group status due to inactivity and arrests in addition to OOC punishments (only five members had an acceptable activity + numerous other internal IFM reasons communicated to leadership)
  • Meng Shetou retains status as official but exits the war wounded due to the attempt on Wuying Meng, cannot demand concessions
  • The Meng schismatics declare independence and any CK permissions Meng Shetou held on them are revoked
  • Nothing changes for the Albanians - they escape relatively unscathed

 

Neither side shall engage in a war or conflict of any type with the other side for a period of one year.

Neither side shall be permitted to align themselves with parties in active opposition to a former enemy.

 

This conclusion reflects the joint committee decision of IFM, approved by management. This ruling shall not be amended. This ruling cannot be disputed with the parties who issued it, and should be forwarded to @Nervous and @Shanks if there are disagreements.

 

 

Regards,

 

IFM

 

 

 

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