The Galactic Syndicate

The Galactic Syndicate, also known as The Castellano Syndicate, or just as "The Syndicate" is a galactic spanning criminal organization led by the Castellano Family. 
== History ==
With the founding of the Galactic Council and the commencement of widescale intergalactic trade between more and more systems also came practices of standardization and regulation, as well as prohibition. Any power, system or planet that was a member of the council and enjoyed its many benefits (chief of which was free passage through member territories, use of space stations and ports and regulated exchange rates for goods) was made to abide by the Council Law. Repeated violations of Council Law would result in sanctions and in more extreme cases, expulsion or even military action. 
Thus, prohibited goods, in particular the trade certain kinds of alcohol, exotic wildlife, sapient trafficking and illegal technology became too risky. Governments all over the galaxy cracked down on all such franchises, lest they be subjects to scrutiny by the council and as a result many businesses went bankrupt and many millions lost their jobs, investments, and occupation. For larger powers, such as the Empyrean Alliance and Grethion Union, this was not as big of a problem as their economies were strong enough to sustain the loss and provide a safety net for their citizens. 
For many systems and planets though, specifically those whose economy relied on such trade, it just wasn't possible to recover from the financial loss and many of them suffered a great depression as a result. These circumstances provided the perfect opportunity for a new, galactic spanning organization to provide both employment and forbidden goods across the galaxy. 
The Possum planet of Possumis Prime was one of the hardest hit planets, having been one of the most active shipping hubs for dubious merchandise. Possumis Prime was a planet that operated on a business model where even the largest businesses were family owned and operated, but even the largest families were unable to cope with the sudden and drastic blow to their economies. It was one of the smaller but older families, the Castellano Family, which eventually decided to register a shipping syndicate independent from the planet. Operating from one of the many abandoned space stations around Possumis Prime, they resumed shipping prohibited goods galaxy wide, in direct violation of council law. 
With the Possum government no longer being responsible for them in the eyes of the council, and the Syndicate providing many possums with employment and bringing money back into the economy, official investigations and actions against the Syndicate were at the bare minimum to satisfy the Council's demands. Before long, the Syndicate was the largest employer on Possumis prime, surpassing even the government and wasted no time in expanding to other poverty stricken systems and planets, soon establishing a network of hubs and locations galaxy wide. 
With the beginning of the Golden Age of Piracy, the Syndicate's businesses were subject to constant attacks by pirate clans, as well as many of the planets and systems they were operating from. As a result, the Syndicate invested heavily into arming and training their employees. This decision yielded an unexpected new business avenue, as many planets and systems came to the Syndicate, pleading for protection. With new protection deals surging new money into the Syndicate, they began incorporating mercenary fleets and corporations as part of their protection racket. This was enough to deter the smaller clans from attacking their assets, and the bigger clans preferred to raid richer governments to begin with. 
The Syndicate soon butted heads with the Cartel, who was slowly pushing into their business. Though the Syndicate did not trade in any drugs (with the exception of alcohol) the Cartel were constantly trying to expand their operations and cut into their business. With the end of the Golden Age of Piracy, the power vacuum left behind by the pirate clans allowed both the Syndicate and the Cartel to step up their operations on the Galactic Scale, to the point where even the larger governments hesitated to openly act against their investments. 
== Staff ==
Position 	Member
Head 	Joseph Paulo "PJ" Castellano
Head of Security	Scippio "Skipper" Castellano
Head of Finance 	Franco Castellano