Human Agencies

There are more than just the supernatural powers who wield power in the city. Humans well outnumber all those who go “bump in the night” and they have been shaping this world since their inception. In addition to them are those denizens of the shadows who generally go unnoticed but are every bit as much a part of the city as any human…

The OSI
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has a field office in San Francisco located at 450 Golden Gate Avenue, 13th floor of the Phillip Burton federal Building. The Office of Special Investigations (OSI), a small department of the field office, is also located on the 13th floor and was established to handle investigations into those cases deemed too “odd” for normal investigative means. Though not always, this often means that the OSI handles investigations into supernatural occurrences in and around San Francisco. Reporting directly to NORTON LEIDECKER, the OSI enjoys heightened funding and special authority.

According to the case files the very first OSI investigation was initiated in 1946 by J. Edgar Hoover. It contained information about a series of murders that occurred in Northwest America during World War II, seven of which took place in Browning, Montana. Each of the victims were basically ripped to shreds and consumed, as if by a wild animal. However, many of the victims were found in their homes, as if they had allowed the killer to enter. In 1946, police cornered what they believed to be such an animal in a cabin in Glacier National Park. They shot it, but when they entered the cabin to retrieve the carcass, they found only the body of Richard Watkins. The murders stopped that year. Believing that the case was too bizarre to be solved adequately, Hoover labeled it unsolved and locked it away in the hope that it would eventually be forgotten. However, the murders resumed in 1954 and continued to occur every few years.

In 1952, an odd case regarding something that killed cattle and terrorized the human inhabitants of Point Pleasant, West Virginia was added to the cases. After witnesses described the culprits as primitive-looking men with red piercing eyes, they became known as the moth men. The case detailing this phenomenon was consequently filed under “M,” within the OSI.

In the same year, DOROTHY BAHNSEN, a clerk working at the FBI Headquarters, was responsible for the files. She had began filing the cases under U for “unsolved” until she was directed to start filing them under “O” for “Other.” There, they began to be unofficially known as “Odd Files.” The director’s office still decided which cases were filed under U, but also discouraged people from looking at the ones that had been labeled unsolved. Special agent ARTHUR DALES was one of the first agents to try to tackle the cases. He had some success, but the FBI and their superiors wanted several cases to remain unsolved and AGENT DALES eventually retired in obscurity.

NORTON LEIDECKER, the director of the San Francisco field office, opened an official office for the “Odd Files”, renaming them eyes only for the “Office of Special Investigations.” His reasoning for establishing the OSI in San Francisco is unknown, but unquestioned by the agents working for him.

The SFPD
The San Francisco Police Department is an agency in a state of crisis. The SFPD has faced intense criticism and growing scrutiny after two recent scandals involving racist texts by cops and a string of fatal officer-involved shootings, including that of a 26-year-old private citizen. Against a backdrop of calls for reform and a hunger strike, the San Francisco Chronicle published a report in recently looking at police shootings and use of force more broadly by the SFPD over the past 15 years. The Chronicle reviewed police data, medical examiner’s reports, and district attorney’s reports dating to 2000, revealing some stark findings.

With all this scrutiny, the ability of the department to enforce the law appears to have diminished even as situations that call for law enforcement multiply. The SFPD just can’t keep up. Many on the force are giving up and leaving for the various private security firms entering the city for better pay and benefits.

American Hawk Security
The most ambitious security firm in San Francisco (CEO GEORGE ASCALON), American Hawk Security was the first firm to offer services in the city with a massive marketing campaign and the hosting of many events around the city with its personnel in the spotlight. Vice President EDWIN COLTAIL, is the featured spokesman in the firm’s many commercials, a charismatic and handsome young (some say too-young) red-headed man with a square jaw.

The firm limits its services to corporate security and uniformed guards.

AHS offices are located within the 48-story Transamerica Pyramid, the tallest building in San Francisco at 850ft. GEORGE ASCALON owns a suite on the top floor.

Cypress Private Security
Cypress Private Security bills itself as unmatched in the industry for providing the highest quality of comprehensive security services available. It provides a full range of solutions including armed or unarmed uniformed officers, mobile patrols, loss prevention specialists and emergency response.

Investigative journalism has branded the firm as dangerous and merely a “dressed-up” mercenary organization. Cypress itself responds by pointing toward its claims of being cheaper than the competition by cutting out the frills associated with large corporations but being every bit as reliable.

Platinum Protection Group
This private security firm is making inroads into the city, though not as quickly as the other firms. Still, it is well financed and seemingly unconcerned with its lack of traction in the city.

The firm offers security services, to include: armed agents, uniformed guards, executive and dignitary protection, workplace violence prevention, corporate security, estate security, and school and mall security. Additionally, they offer investigative services.

Bahala Na Gang (The Market)
Originally formed in the Philippines, the Bahala Na spread to Filipino immigrant communities in the United States, especially California. Bahala Na Gang sets emerged throughout the San Diego area, Los Angeles area, San Jose, San Francisco Bay area, as well as the Las Vegas area in Nevada

Older hardcore members are in their 30’s. Younger ambitious members are used to back up the drug trafficking and weapon trafficking operations of the gang bosses. Younger members, however, are the ones most likely to commit violent acts to prove themselves. Outside of drug and weapon trafficking rings gang, members are involved in murder, robbery and kidnapping among others.

The Nortenos (Mission District)
The NORTEÑOS are a Hispanic gang that bases itself out of the Mission District. They act as protectors of the Mexican population and outspoken opponents of the current law enforcement policies in San Francisco, unafraid to directly clash with the SFPD. They are being supplied with weapons from an unknown source.

Symbols and Culture
The NORTEÑOS (Spanish: Northerners) are affiliated with NUESTRA FAMILIA (Our Family) and are a coalition of traditionally Latino gangs in Northern California. A member of these gangs is a Norteño (male) or Norteña (female); based on Spanish usage. Northern Californians who are not gang members, but feel a strong cultural affiliation with others in Northern California, may also refer to themselves as Norteños/Norteñas or simply “Northerners.”

The traditional rivals of the NORTEÑOS are the SUREÑOS (“Southerners”). The statewide dividing line between Norteños and Sureños has roughly been accepted as the rural community of Delano, California. Norteños may refer to Northern California as Norte, Spanish for “north”.

Norteño emblems and clothing are based on the color red. A typical Norteño outfit might include a red belt, red shoes, and red shoelaces. They will also favor sports team apparel that shows their affiliation through symbolism such as the San Francisco 49ers.

Norteños may refer to each other by using the term “ENE”, Spanish for the letter “N”. Norteños use the number 14 in tattoos and graffiti because “N” is the fourteenth letter of the alphabet. It is sometimes written as “X4”, or in Roman numerals as “XIV”. Some Norteños will tattoo themselves with four dots. Norteños will derogatorily refer to a Sureño as a “Scrap” or “Sur (Sewer) Rat”, while a Sureño will likewise refer to a Norteño as a “Buster” or “Chap” (Chapete).

Norteños also lay claim to images of the Mexican-American labor movement, such as the sombrero, machete, and “Huelga bird”, symbols of the United Farm Workers.

Lanza Crime Family
The Lanza Crime Family was formed after a large gang war, which started in 1928 and ended in 1932. The Lanza gang proved to be the strongest after murdering San Francisco gang leader Luigi Malvese on May 18, 1932. Francesco Lanza was the leader of the Lanza gang and became the first real crime boss of San Francisco. He divided his income from loansharking, gun running, prostitution, gambling and narcotics. Lanza founded the famous Fisherman’s Wharf along with his partner Giuseppe Alioto. Lanza passed away of natural causes on July 14, 1937. He was 57 years old.

By the start of the 1990s, there were only a few made men left in the San Francisco mob, one was Sergio Maranghi, who was involved in cocaine and heroin trafficking. Maranghi moved to the United States from Florence, Italy in 1973 and eventually settled in San Francisco in 1978. He first began working as an employee of Starfish Co., a small fish processing company, which did a lot of business with Alioto’s Restaurant. In 1980 Maranghi opened the Anchor Bay Cafe in North Beach. Lanza quickly noticed Maranghi’s ability as a moneymaker and soon made him a member of the crime family. Maranghi was spotted many times meeting with Lanza and other San Francisco mob figures at the Anchor Bay Cafe until it closed down in 1983. He was one of many involved in a cocaine bust in October 1991.

Though the Lanza Crime Family does not attract nearly as much press as other gangs, it is still very much active in: prostitution, drug dealing, arms dealing, and protection rackets.

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