Don Marcello, 1919
The Montesini family was a major Brunanter crime family active from the 1920s to the 1970s. They were based in Grijzestad but operated across much of northern Chester Parish and Hogeberg Island
History[]
Marcello Montesini (1887-1922), a member of the Sicilian mafia, came to Brunant in 1911 to look for better opportunities. He began a major racketeering operation, involved in smuggling, gambling, and other illicit activities. He acted as a middleman when the government needed to buy weapons (WWI). He made a huge profit at the government's expense. When Marcello died in 1922, his capo Giovanni Marchese took over until his son Mario (1914-1973) was old enough to head the family.
Following Mussolini's example in Italy, the government began a plan at combating the mafia in 1928. The Royal Guard began raiding alleged mafia locations and used a heavy hand in their search. In the process, they lost 21 soldiers, something which prompted the government to call off the hunt in 1932. In 1933, they were involved in the Chester War with the rival Conley Brothers Gang of Chester. On July 21, 1933 all four brothers were found hanging from trees, and in the following days 19 Irish-Brunanter mobsters had been killed by the Montesini's. The Brunanter government worked fast and in 1934 Mario Montesini was arrested on bribery charges and sentenced to 30 years in prison. His younger brother Amadeo (1917-1965) took over as boss, since it became much more difficult to conduct operations from inside the prison.
During WWII, the Nazis began fighting the mafia, and in a rare move they allied themselves with the resistance movement. They bombed German troop convoys and created lots of problems for them. But, the Germans fought back and had killed 20 mafia members by 1943. A few mobsters had by then switched sides and begun working for the Nazis but after Brunant's liberation many were killed for collaborating.
In the 1950s and 1960s the family consolidated themselves as the country's top crime operation. But, they faced competition from the nearby Charles Town Mob and they erupted in open war in 1963. During the war they managed to kill Barney and Yorick McCaoinlin, leaders in the mob. The third brother, Ned, was arrested by the Police. The Montesinis were not without problems as new boss Arthur Benn had Amadeo Montesini's country home blown up, and he (and his family) died in it.
Fearing a downfall of their crime empire, new boss (and nephew to the previous one) Lucas "Fatso" Montesini (born 1946) began acquiring connections with the government but were utlimately unsuccessful in doing so. In the 1980s and 1990s the crime rate dropped significantly and by 1995 the Montesinis had largely left the business.
Famous members[]
- Marcello Montesini : former boss
- Fabiana Capello (1891-1985): the "mother of crime"
- Jimmy Kaplan (1932-1968): defector from the Chalres Town Mob
- Amadeo Montesini: former boss
- Carlo Montesini: former member