Van Graffs The Van Graffs are a major family - based organized crime syndicate operating in New California and the Mojave Wasteland in 2281 . Background . The Van Graff family has a history of ruthless behavior when it comes to rivals muscling in on their territory , and it seems old habits die hard ; two of the Van Graffs have set up shop in a bedraggled old casino called the Silver Rush , where they specialize in Energy Weapons , and the maximizing of profits . Run by Gloria Van Graff and her elder half - brother Jean - Baptiste Cutting , their stronghold is heavily defended with their Thugs armed with the latest in weapons technology . Gloria is in charge of general operations at the Silver Rush . She is the person responsible for the New Vegas Van Graffs ’ general strategy , including possible under - the - counter deals to wipe out the competition . The muscle of the Van Graff operation , Jean - Baptiste personally handles all of Gloria ’ s dirty work . Despite the family ’ s tendency to deal in energy weapons , Jean - Baptiste is a connoisseur of big guns and explosives . He threatens people for looking at him the wrong way and is far from all talk ; he will go from zero - to - murder in the twitch of an eye . History . A powerful caravan family operating out of Redding , the Van Graffs are one of the primary reasons why NCR has difficulty expanding north . While the Wright family of New Reno trades in drugs and prostitution ( the spoils of their successful bid for power in the wake of the Chosen One ' s passing ) , the Van Graffs trade gold and weapons . Much like the Wrights , the Van Graffs are a huge family . The mother , Tiaret Van Graff , has ten children , all from different fathers . All of her children are intensely loyal to both her and each other . The caravan ' s symbol is a lion ' s head . Organization . The Van Graff family has a history of ruthless behavior when it comes to rivals muscling in on their territory , and it seems old habits die hard ; two of the Van Graffs have set up shop in a bedraggled old casino called the Silver Rush , where they specialize in Energy Weapons , and the maximizing of profits . Run by Gloria Van Graff and her elder half - brother Jean - Baptiste Cutting , their stronghold is heavily - defended with their thug s armed with the latest in weapons technology . Gloria is in charge of general operations at the Silver Rush . She is the person responsible for the New Vegas Van Graffs ' general strategy , including possible under - the - counter deals to wipe out the competition . The muscle of the Van Graff operation , Jean - Baptiste personally handles all of Gloria ' s dirty work . He is a nasty , mean - spirited son - of - a - bitch . Despite the family ' s tendency to deal in energy weapons , Jean - Baptiste is a connoisseur of big guns and explosives . He threatens people for looking at him the wrong way and is far from all talk ; he will go from zero - to - murder in the blink of an eye . His father is the only husband Tiaret really liked so she let Jean keep the name after he died . During the quest Talent Pool , Bruce Isaac tells the player that the Van Graffs are now one of the two main crime families of New Reno , alongside the Wright family . Relations with the outside . The Van Graffs generally oppose and outright kill anyone that competes with them in the same market . While the Van Graffs originally started out selling weapons and gold they have moved onto the profitable market of energy weapons , becoming the biggest contender the Gun Runners have in the weapons market and unsurprisingly , the Van Graffs don ' t dare try to attack the heavily armed , traditional guns company . As they make their own weapons from pre - War machines and taking the highest quality parts out of other energy weapons , it ' s of small wonder how they can often destroy other caravans that also sell energy weapons with superior firepower . Surprisingly , Gloria Van Graff respects the Legion but thinks very little of their military might . Unsurprisingly , the Van Graffs hate the NCR mostly as they often stop their expansion with regulations and taxes . They also stated how at one point they would have been able to take on the NCR head - to - head , but as of the New Vegas era the NCR is said to be too large . Technology . The Van Graffs in Fallout : New Vegas specialize in energy weapons and have ruthlessly established a near - monopoly in such items . Not even the Gun Runners have been spared mysterious " accidents " designed to drive them out of this part of the weapons trade , as Alexander tells the player when questioned at 188 Trading Post . However , Van Graff technology appears inferior to that of the Gun Runners , since the weapons they sell are of much poorer overall quality . Appearances . The Van Graffs appear in " " and J . E . Sawyer ' s " Fallout " Role - Playing Game , and were to appear in Black Isle ' s canceled " Fallout 3 " . Behind the scenes . " Van Graff " is likely a reference to the American physicist Robert J . Van de Graaff , creator of the . The generator was an early particle accelerator that inspired Nikola Tesla ' s attempts to create .