The Belluccios

**The Bellucios** are an organized crime syndicate, appearing as a central faction turned major antagonists towards the end of *Guns, Gore & Cannoli.* The Don of the family is Mr. Belluccio, who called Vinnie Cannoli to Thugtown and contracted him with finding his pilot, Frankie The Fly, so he could safely escape the carnage.

## Biography

The Belluccios are one of two Thugtown-based mafias, being located at the northern side of the city, where it's cut in half by a river. While they control most of the inner town, the southern side of the city is controlled by their competing rival family, The Bonninos. While the Bonninos find local success, primarily thanks to the popular speakeasy/stripclub they own, the Belluccios are most notorious for being directly involved in the production, procuring and smuggle of liquor in the illegal alcohol trade across the entire country. Moonshiners, distilleries, bars, they got it all. The business they ran from their lavish skyscraping tower in the middle of Thugtown was extremely profitable, so much so that it allowed Mr. Belluccio to purchase a blimp from the Army, on which he boisterously painted his own name on. Being two big fish in the small pond that was Thugtown, the two gangs were not on good terms, having been at war with one another for years, or at least longer than most residents can remember. While neither family was planning on backing down, being at each other's throats for so long inadvertently allowed a third party to enter the picture, one that would change the face of Thugtown forever, more than two feuding rum running gangs ever would be able to.

We write the year 1928, the 17th of March. On that day, citizens all over the States observe an annual celebration, St. Patrick's Day. Brought over by the Irish, while it's mostly about celebrating the Irish saint and commemorating him by wearing the color green, attending church and being appreciative to all things Irish, what most people saw in St. Patricks's was a boozer's holiday. With the Prohibition, while it may have become illegal to celebrate that last aspect of the holiday, bootleggers and local brewers provided the people with alcohol all the same. Thugtown was no exception, with the breweries supplying them with a particularly bubbly blend of the hard stuff. The green tint and offish taste didn't throw most off, it was St. Patrick's after all and you can't be picky in times like these.

It only took a few days, however, for strange things to start happening. It wasn't unusual for some drunkards to over do it and drop dead after a night of pub crawling, but these ones would simply get up... different. The Thugtowners could do nothing but watch as everyday folk, from maids and footballers to butchers and barrelmakers suddenly turned frenzied and attacked passerby, mauling and biting them. The "Drunken Riots" as they were dubbed, quickly took a hold of Thugtown. There was rioting in every inch of the city, showing no sign of slowing down. The local law enforcement tried to put down the civil unrest as best they could, but a closer look at these "rioters" showed that they weren't really dealing with some angry alcoholics. They weren't looking for their next fix but their next meal, killing and eating other people. The policemen were overwhelmed and quickly fell to the horde. The army was soon sent into the city to contain whatever was happening in the city, building up a stronghold at the bridge in the city center, locking down the entire town and cutting off all contact with the outside world.

Both crime families had at this point sealed themselves in their respective hideouts, the Belluccios at the Belluccio's Tower, and the Bonninos at the Bonnino stripclub. Mr. Belluccio hadn't a clue as to what was happening, but knew that he had to get out of Thugtown if he wanted to live. Escaping with the blimp, preferably with his fortune, seemed like a valid option, but he had no idea how to steer the aircraft. Made-man Frankie quickly came to mind, as he was an airman during the Great War. Frankie, though, has gone missing since the outbreak, so with no options left, he decided to call in an enforcer from out of Thugtown, one he could entrust with finding the lost pilot. After promising to handsomely reward him, the hired mobster took the last ship headed for Thugtown.

## Guns, Gore & Cannoli

Mr. Belluccio anxiously waited in the tower for Vinnie to arrive with his pilot. After waiting for hours, Frankie finally shows up in his office. Although Mr. Cannoli wasn't accompanying him, he was glad to see him unharmed. His relief is cut short when Frankie frantically tells him that the man he had sent to rescue him was insane and had wiped out the Bonninos, hiding the fact that he tricked Vinnie and left him behind at the bridge to collect his payment. Warning that he was now headed for them, the confused, but concerned Mr. Belluccio is persuaded by Frankie's pleas to hurry up and set defenses before he killed everyone. Mr. Belluccio calls one of his underlings, Tony, and orders him to get his men ready for this lone but dangerous gangster, to make sure he doesn't reach the tower. As Mr. Belluccio puts down the receiver, he is shot in the back of the head by Frankie with his revolver, having planned his betrayal all along. He drops the gun and sneeringly bids the deceased Mr. Belluccio goodbye and thanks him for his blimp and his money.

While the Don was now dead, the rest of the Belluccios were still under the assumption that he was still alive and were thusly dead set on preventing Vinnie from coming near the tower. He arrives some time after the murder, at the bottom of a construction site and is greeted with hostility by patrolling members of the Belluccios. Vinnie mercilessly massacres them while he climbs his way up the building by jumping through apartments and on various rooftops. During the climb, toxic gas is released into the city by the military, spreading upwards. Vinnie avoids the gas and kills the soldiers he encounters on his climb to the rooftops. He soon reaches the tower where the last line of defense from the remaining Belluccios are waiting for him. They pose no match to Vinnie who ascends up the tower and confronts the last Belluccio member, Frankie, on the roof, where they have one final battle. Frankie wastes every bullet, grenade and shell he has on Vinnie, but loses to him. The victorious mobster jumps at the stunned Frankie and beats him with his bare fists, before tossing the traitor off the blimp, wiping out the entirety of the Belluccio syndicate and flying off with the wealth they accumulated over the years.

## Known members

* Mr. Belluccio (The Don, Boss)
* Frankie The Fly (Made-man working as pilot)
* Tony (Caporegime)
* Ithaca Gangster (Soldier)
* Lupara Gangster (Soldier)
* Vinnie Cannoli (Guns Gore & Cannoli series) (Hitman)