Gotham

The following is a breakdown of Gotham’s organized Criminal Underworld. This has been updated to the end of year 2019’s storylines.

• Falcone Crime Family (Sicilian) – Run by Carmine “The Roman” Falcone, who maintained a stranglehold over all of Gotham City’s crime before the rise of ‘masks.’ Carmine is still the King of Gotham’s criminal underworld, due to his connections in both government and law enforcement, but in recent years he has faced challenges on many fronts that have in turn emboldened some of the families and gangs to work outside of his control. The Falcon Family sits upon the throne of Midtown and while that hold remains they are unmovable as the real criminal power in Gotham.
• Galante Crime Family (Italian) – Run by “Boss” Galante, who controls most of the East Side of downtown Gotham known as East Park Side. The Galante is known as the enforcers of Carmine entire Empire. Over the years the Galante Family have been the harshest to masks infringing on their personal territory and as such as the ones sent in first to stabilize any other territory.
• Maroni Crime Family (Italian) – Brought to prominence in the 1950s by an original mafiaso out of Italy, Luigi “Big Lou” Maroni was known to be a firm yet fair Boss in Gotham. The Maroni Family came to Gotham at the request of Carmine, specifically for the job of cleaning up Granton (Grant). Now Granton is part of Uptown, one of the least deadly parts of the entire city. Big Lou recently fell upon ill health and his son Sal began to run the Family’s day to day operations. Sal Maroni is a much more ‘By the Numbers’ sort and while profits for the family have seen a spike in rising under his guidance, they have also kindled a lot of heat between the Maroni and Dimitrov Families.
• Odessa Crime Family (Ukrainian) – A smaller ‘family’ the Odessans are hold great sway within the Falcone empire, as they handle the arms supply for the entire city. Unlike most of the other families, the Odessa Family is not based out of any one place in the city but instead ship directly to various Gotham ports from outside of the City.
• Riley Family (Irish) – Run by Sean “the Irish” Riley, in control of South Point. The Riley Family has maintained a stranglehold on South Point since the very beginning of Gotham City’s original founding. South Point is a a bit of misnomer among the government and law enforcement types, because while they supply the rest of Gotham’s Families with a great deal of their import and export in guns and large arms, they have also maintained a strict order in their borders. Crime is very low in South Point. Those who eek out a living there are not extorted or treated unfairly. So the police are at a point of being unable to remove them, out of fear of what might replace them. In recent times the Riley family has been fighting a very private internal struggle in South Point with the Sabatino Family
• Sabatino Family (Italian) – Once upon a time the Sabatino Family ruled Gotham City, they were in fact the first organized criminal family in the city having come over from Italy on the same boat as the Waynes. They saw a marked decline in power during the Untouchables Era, serving as a foil for many of the original Gotham Mystery Men in the sixties and seventies. When the Falcone Family began to rise in the 1980s they were largely powerless to stop it and were as a dissolved down to controlling a small portion of South Point known as Randall. As a stop-gap the Sabatino Family heir was married to the daughter of Sean Riley. When the marriage failed, it plunged all of South Point in to an internal struggle between the Sabatino and Riley Families. This struggle for control has so far remained bloodless but for how long remains to be seen.
• Dimitrov Family (Russian) – Run by Yuri “The Russian” Dimitrov, the Russians appeared in Gotham sometime during the Cold War era and were directly connected to the Falcone ascension to absolute power. It is rumored that the Russians were handed North Point as a reward for their help in Carmine’s rise, but North Point originally was considered part of Granton and belonged to the Maroni Family. In recent times Sal Maroni has rekindled the bad blood that has been beneath the surface all these years in a long term bid to retake North Point for the Maroni Family. The Dimitrov Family has a reputation for bloody and ruthless tactics, which is in itself one of the main reasons that the larger Maroni Family hasn’t won their struggle in short order. Yuri’s connections to the Odessa Family are vital to keeping the Falcone Empire stocked with arms and so Yuri himself is one of the most protected people in all of Gotham.
• Golden Dragons (Chinese) – Based in the China Basin, and lead by a mask known as ‘Lynx’ the former street gang has seen a rise in both influence and prestige with the ascension of masks and capes in the city. While they remain in the China Basin, many believe that is their choice and not because any of the nearby rivals present a threat to their power.
• Penguin’s Gang (Mixed) – The Penguin, otherwise known as Oswald Cobblepot, was one of the first Masks to rise in Gotham. Unlike others, Oswald has the ‘beak’ for business and went about his rise to power in such a way as to present a profitable venture to the Falcone Empire instead of presenting an opponent to fight. Cobblepot took over Sandy Hook island quietly, by starting the Iceberg Lounge. The Lounge is a casino and restaurant, from which Cobblepot extended his influence in to building Sandy Hook up. Currently the small island is the entertainment capital of the city, with not only the lounge but the Gotham Stadium within their bounds as well.
• The Blackgaters (Mixed) – Originally composed of all African Americans, the Blackgaters have existed for decades but were rarely recognized as a major power within the city. Their foundations began with the creation of Blackgate Prison in the forties. Through the years has become membership has comprised of mostly former inmates. As the equal rights movement swept the country, it’s impact was felt most by the Blackgaters in that their influence soon began to balloon with non-black members. As their numbers grew, so too did their impact within the city to such an extent that Gotham P.D. chose their area to place their “Major Crimes Unit.”
• Intergang (Unknown) –  Lead by Bruno Manheim and his enforcer Johnny Stitches, the Intergang is new to Gotham City but not to the United States as they are considered to be the major criminal enterprise in Metropolis. Their move in to Gotham is the first sign of expansion. Based out of Cobble Hill, the Intergang is currently very small but extremely well organized to such an extent that the Galantes have not been able to eradicate or bring them to heal for the Falcone Empire yet.

NOTE: In the micro-world of Gotham City, vigilantes who fight for good are called “Capes,” while their counterparts the villains are called “Masks.”

Organization:

• Falcone Empire: The ‘Empire’ of Carmine Falcone consists of several “Families;” Maroni, Dimitrov, Galante, Sabatino, Riley and Odessa. These families are lead by a “Boss” who reports only to Carmine Falcone. Midtown is controlled directly by the Falcone Family and as such has seen much in the way of a boon from the criminal empire. For example the Red Hook district, which was once considered the Gotham Slums in the fifties is now considered a more or less upscale area to live. One exception to this rule is the Fort Clinton (called simply Clinton by citizens of Gotham), which has some of the highest crime rates in the entire city. Many attribute this to the proximity of Clinton to the Narrows and therefore Arkam Asylum.
• Non-Alligned: Many smaller gangs exist within Gotham City’s boundaries. Most of these gangs are allowed only because they pay tribute or are indirectly controlled by the Falcones or one of the subsidiary families. Examples of this are the Blackgaters a highly organized group of ‘thugs’ and the Golden Dragons which has it’s origin in an upscale speed-biker gang, both of which work pay tribute to the Families in order for their unmolested existed in portions of the city that the Mafia considers beneath their notice. While other groups, such as the Penguin’s Gang and Intergang exist by way of legit business ventures and Masks at the head of their groups that provide them with insulation and power outside the means of the normal mafia families.