Civil Society/Crime/Theme/Philadelphia Mafia/Theme

 The Philadelphia Crime Family, the Philadelphia Mafia, the Bruno-Scarfo Family. The organization has had many names. Today, they prefer the moniker Philly Mob. Short, sweet, and simple. Rather how they prefer to keep their business dealings. The present day Philly Mob operates under the leadership of Joey Merlino, in the tradition of all Italian mobs throughout history. Though Joey Merlino himself is rarely seen in Philadelphia at all these days, preferring to haunt his clubs and properties in Florida and leave the day to day operations to his inner circle in Philadelphia.

 This arrangement has turned Philadelphia into a series of fiefdoms overseen by Merlino's inner circle. Their traditional means of income remain. Racketeering, extortion, sports betting, illegal gambling, loan sharking, murder for hire, money laundering, corruption, and drug trafficking. Everyone's getting rich, and so everyone is happy. The made men pay the capos pay the underbosses pay the consigliere pay the boss. Merlino is content to run his affairs from Boca Raton, and the Five Families in New York seem content that Philadelphia is content. No one wants another war, right? That only brings the eye of the FBI and the intercession of the RICO act in all of their carefully crafted rackets. Right? Right, guys?

 And then there are those who see Merlino as an absentee landlord. A puffed shirt who was too young when he assumed the mantle, and then faffed off to Florida to bang cuban women and gamble away the sweat and blood of better men in his self-imposed early retirement. The family could do more, could be more. Moreover, they could do it out from under the watchful eye of the Gambino and Genovese who have constantly demanded fealty from the Philadelphia families.

 It's not a question of if, but when. Someone, at some point, is going to get sick of answering to a guy whose area code isn't 215. And when that happens, the blood will run in the streets once more. The real question is which side are you going to be on when the dime drops?