Organized Interstellar Crime?

dayriff

Mongoose
Inspired by some of the Andre Norton books, I've been thinking about interstellar criminal organizations. Known in "The Zero Stone" and "Uncharted Stars" as the Guild. The "space mafia" if you will. What would cause such an organization to come into being and how would it function on a practical level?

In Traveller, the baseline assumption is that interstellar trade is regulated and taxed. (How else to pay for all those navy ships?) This would seem to provide an incentive to organize in evading tariffs and smuggling illegal-to-trade goods. That's the basis for many (most?) large scale criminal conspiracies in the real world. Allow a little allowance for the laws of fiction and drama, and I think a large scale interstellar crime syndicate works rather well as an rpg hook. Specific thoughts.

1) The most basic business of such an organization is dealing in goods that are:
A. Low volume, highly valuable, highly taxed.
B. Illegal for import on a particular world (drugs, weapons, etc.).
C. Illegal or restricted for trade in general (slaves, pirated merchandise, military-grade equipment, Ancient artifacts).

2) Territory would consist of routes between worlds.

3) Small ship owners would be prime recruits for low level membership, with high rewards for compliance and threats for the obstinate. This results in all small ship owners living under a cloud of suspicion, since everyone knows they are prime recruits!

4) Money laundering is more difficult on high technology worlds, but it will be these worlds most attractive to spend one's ill-gotten gains. The solution might be to fund "trade" with a world where there is poor record keeping as a cover for profits.

5) As in real world organized crime, bonds of blood and culture are useful in ensuring loyalty. A crime syndicate might grow from a particular minority who dislike cooperating with authorities and have few options other than crime. A religous faith? An alien race?

6) Could fighting such an organization be yet another job foisted off on the Scouts? They are used to operating in small groups or singularly over a vast section of space.

Anyone using a space mafia in their games? Thoughts?
 
I like my games Noirish, so there's always organised crime in my games. Those guidelines seem quite apt. Historically, it seems organised criminals are quite ritualistic and sentimental, as well as being ruthless, hateful motherfrakkers.
 
Lest we forget, I think the protection racket and extortion in general may be a profitable venture in most Traveller Universes.

It would be a shame if that cargo disappeared, wouldn't it?

Also, you should check out season 2 of The Wire for a nice way to fold your import/export operation into a more general narrative of local government and port authority corruption...
 
For me, interstellar crime acts as a parallel polis in the Imperium. It exists in the shadows of the Imperium in every way. Just as there are Noble Houses...there are Crime Lords. Where there is the Navy there are syndicates of pirates. Just as there are common adventurers there are ordinary thieves, pirates, cutthroats not affiliated with anyone of the bigger powers that are pulling the strings. Naturally, as a parallel shadow polis, like Intelligence Agencies who operate openly outside the law, there is sometimes active collaboration with the criminal element or just passive acceptance. Naturally, most players cannot tell which wheel turns which other wheel. The Imperium is a large clockwork monstrosity and crime is also sometimes just the grease.
 
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