Jacobean Cildania (5321 - 5369)

[Wu Han]

Cause and effect: anti-Yeudi sentiments encourage rapid rise of organized Yeudi crime rings


Two Yeudi men near the Sacred Follower Erial Synagogue in Qart Qildar, the target of the nation's most recent terrorist attack that claimed eight lives.

September 20, 5334 | In a new publication from the independent research institute Fondazzjoni tar-Riċerka Lini Tarssia it has become clear that organized crime across Cildania has seen a massive rise since the return to democracy. Crime expert Kail Ubaldini was the lead researcher on the project and explained its goal and reasoning. "Cildania's return to democracy has been turbulent, invigorating, and a true blessing in many ways for our country, yet it has also caused a massive problem. The organized crime so relentlessly oppressed by the dictatorship was able to flourish after law enforcement suddenly had to follow rules and regulations, during the time of Franġisku Scolesi-Aveta the lawless liberty against organized crime made it so that the old crime families and syndicated could do little to maintain their grasp. Now we have the opposite, the FtRLT (Lini Tarssia Research Foundation) is convinced that certain organized crime families are actively lobbying politics and injecting their personal wealth to influence policies." dr. Ubaldini further explained that in the transition to democracy several high-ranking members of criminal enterprises were able to almost become oligarchs within Cildania. "There's people being voted into office that in any other country would be in jail."

In further research done by the Ħarald tas-Sur it became clear that the heads of the 'old families' all now openly flourish. While none of the big families ever lived in squalor it has now become clear that several heads of alleged crime families, previously convicted mob boss Alessandru Delucca lives in a multi-million mansion in the suburbs of Qart Qildar, while alleged criminal figure and well-known politician Sigismondo Falzon has an even more expensive house. A source within the Cildania Police Force confirmed they have an open investigation in regards to the personal wealth of known and alleged criminals but that "mysterious forces" are delaying the investigation and blocking access to "essential documents". "Within the government circles, specifically the Ministry of the Interior, there is a clear influence from these families to block any progress", said the anonymous source to Ħarald tas-Sur. While all this is happening the big families also have essentially agreed to a ceasefire. The FtRLT report notes that gang on gang violence has almost completely ceased. "There is still gang on gang violence but the big families, the ones that respect the 'rules', are no longer setting up operations against each other. We believe they might have split Cildania up in pieces and are now using the current instability of the political system to fully infiltrate all levels of our society," said dr. Ubaldini.

Open corruption and lobbying from organized crime have made the Police Force a lame duck. The report from the FtRLT reinforces this conclusion, as does dr. Ubaldini: "Everything points to the way of the police being infested with moles that work for organized crime, with several organized crime aligned people in the upper ranks. We have unconfirmed reports that the entire department responsible for undercover operations has been compromised, but apart from death notices we cannot give any conclusive evidence." Ubaldini states that in the past ten years more undercover police officers have died than in the thirty years before that, citing internal sources confirming which officers that passed away on the line of duty were part of the undercover program. "It's a real tragedy, the lack of justice makes it worse."


The congregation of the Qadim Haxrit Synagogue being protected by a member of the pro-Yeudi paramilitary group Protetturi ta’ Kulħadd.

"My grandfather started this business, but this is it for me, no more." Local Yeudi businessman Rafal Montagu is the third generation owner of the Yeudi restaurant Kċina Kosher ta' Montagu but he and his wife have decided enough is enough. "We always had some problems, sure, as did my father and grandfather, but the last four years have been hell." Montagu's restaurant is one of the most popular spots for Yeudi cuisine in Patah. "I have a tab with the local window pane salesman, that's how often they are thrown in these days." His wife no longer goes outside and has not worked in the restaurant for two years. "She couldn't take it, all the shouting, the obscenities, them breaking our stuff. It was too much. I did not want to give up that easily, I felt that quitting would make them win. But now I've reached a point where I rather let them win, its truly been too much to handle." Local law enforcement has been powerless in subduing the anti-Yeudi violence or has allowed it to happen according to Montagu: "The Order (Order of Saint Sebastian) is fairly popular in this city and many of them are police officers, most of them just let it happen." The closing of Montagu's restaurant is the eight Yeudi business closing in Patah this year. More and more Yeudi business owners decide to call it quits, going into different sectors with less public exposure or simply entering unemployment out of desperation against the violence.

The crime report of the independent research institute Fondazzjoni tar-Riċerka Lini Tarssia has linked these developments to the massive rise of Yeudi organized crime in many parts of Cildania. "When the legal side of doing business becomes increasingly difficult it only removes more barriers to join the illegal side," explained dr. Ubaldini. "Yeudi organized crime has historically been irrelevant, but now with the rise of anti-Yeudi violence and its continued persistence in combination with a general rise in organized crime these syndicated are able to flourish like never before." Cildanian Yeudi that turn to crime after selling their business use their acquired wealth to engage in money-lending activities, illegal gambling, and smuggling. "Especially loansharking is becoming increasingly popular, which is mostly a Yeudi on Yeudi activity as many legitimate Yeudi are facing difficulty in getting loans from banks so they turn to the local Yeudi criminals to help them." Whereas Gziri and Hebilean organized crime makes most of their money in waste management, construction, real estate, and illicit drugs the Yeudi families steer away from these sectors according to Ubaldini. "It is less acceptable in their culture and it is perhaps also a deliberate choice to not provoke any other crime syndicate." The FtRLT research showed that the traditional crime families mostly leave the Yeudi families alone, considering them 'small players'.

Some Rabbi's also get involved in Yeudi organized crime which has resulted in one very specific business that can be paid for. A year ago the Alagona cabinet passed a law making divorce legal for either partner for any reason. However within the more strict Yeudi communities it is not allowed for the wife to initiate divorce. The Ħarald tas-Sur knows of several Rabbi's across Cildania that engage in the lucrative 'divorce trade' where a Yeudi wife pays the Rabbi. After this the associates of the Rabbi take the husband and torture him until he states he wants to divorce. The day after the husband is forced to go the local government to initiate the divorce, adhering to the religious laws of the strict Yeudi community. More peace-loving Rabbi's have denounced the practice is "corrupt" and "barbaric", yet none can deny it is not a lucrative endeavour.

The Ħarald tas-Sur is one of the oldest Cildanian newspapers, which nowadays lays its focus on investigative journalism. It usually remains politically neutral but has a history of writing for the upper middle class.

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Originally posted by Kubrick on 19 Jul 2023.