Michael Yatela

From MazeWorld
Jump to: navigation, search
Navigation: Main Page → Creatures → Characters → Michael Yatela




Michael Yatela
Unknown creature.png
Species Human icon.png
Gender Male
Born E7-658, Decima 13
Died Alive (46 years old)
Dimensions 5'9", 175 lbs
Physical traits Light skin
Black hair
Green eyes
Overweight build


Don Michael Yatela is the current leader of the Yatela Crime Syndicate.


Bio

Much of Michael's life and career in the Syndicate is not well-known, with more rumors and unsubstantiated stories than any real facts - most of what follows is information compiled from informants and insiders, corroborated with the scarce public information available on the Syndicate. Some of it may be exaggerated or romanticized.

Early years

Michael Yatela is one of the many descendants of the Yatela family and the oldest of five siblings. Born in 658 to his father, Arsenio Yatela, and an unknown mother, in the town of Greening, he was raised with the expectations of becoming the Syndicate's next Don, immersed in gangster culture from a very young age.

During his childhood and teenage years, as his family grew and he gained more siblings, Michael quickly took on a leadership role, teaching his younger siblings until they could lead gangs of their own. Michael often claims that he learned to shoot his first handgun at the age of 7, used it to kill his first mark when he was 8, and that by the time he was 11, he was already teaching his brother Tony how to shoot.

Progressing through the Syndicate's ranks

According to the Maze Police, it is widely believed that Michael officially became made at the age of 19, when he was tasked to commit his first murder for the Syndicate on behalf of his father, Don Arsenio. The target reportedly was a debtor that had refused to pay protection fees, though some believe the murder was ordered because had insulted Don Arsenio's girlfriend at the time. The debtor's body was found with three gunshot wounds - two to the chest and one to the left temple, suggesting an execution-style murder.

After Michael officially became an enforcer, he moved to Baden Town, working under one of the local capos for around 7 years. Following the arrest of his capo, Michael took control of his crew, imposing himself as the new leader. With his father's approval, he officially became a caporegime, continuing his operations in Baden Town for another 4 years, before returning to Greening in 688, in time for the eighteenth birthday of his youngest sibling, Lenny.

Upon learning that Lenny had worked his way into the family as well and had just become a made man of his own, Michael requested from his father that he and his brothers be part of the same crew, with himself as the capo and his siblings as his enforcers. Although Don Arsenio initially warmed up to the idea, his consigliere, Ciro Veleno, was staunchly opposed to it, instead suggesting to the old Don that each sibling be separated and sent to work in different towns, giving each sibling the objective of forming and running successful crews, so that they could each prove themselves useful to the Syndicate and not simply rely on their family bonds. Convinced by the advice, Don Arsenio denied Michael's request and had all five siblings separated.

Michael, already a capo at this point, stayed in Greening and continued to run his operations, while the others were sent to each of the Syndicate's other towns; Tony was sent to Baden Town, Soren to Garica Block, Nicky to Lenox Corner, and Lenny to Viris Area.

Two years later, in 690, tragedy struck the Yatela family as their father, Don Arsenio, died suddenly while dining at the famous Ma's Bistro restaurant. His brother, Attilio, was also found dead shortly afterward, leaving no-one of their generation to run the Syndicate. Medical personnel officially declared Don Arsenio's cause of death to be a stroke, attributed to the use of cocaine; Attilio's cause of death was ruled to be a heart attack. Although rules of succession dictated that Michael was the next in line for the position of Syndicate Don, the consigliere, Ciro Veleno, took control of the Syndicate "temporarily", informing Michael and his siblings that he would run the day-to-day operations while giving them time to grieve.

However, after six months, Veleno refused to go through with the succession proceedings, repeatedly denying Michael's requests to discuss the situation. Relations quickly soured, and Michael accused Veleno of using the death of his father to stage a coup and take control of the Syndicate. According to Michael, Veleno's response was to hire a mercenary hit squad to attempt murdering Michael; and many eyewitnesses reported seeing four armed men following him outside of Greening, intending to carry out the hit in the UA. Michael, however, survived the encounter, killing all four of the mercenaries. Rather than turn back and cancel his trip out of Greening, he instead went into hiding, making Veleno believe that the hit had been successful.

For the two years and a half that followed, Michael Yatela's whereabouts remained completely unknown, and Veleno was effectively in control of the Syndicate. The Maze Police did not report any significant or unusual changes in Syndicate activity during this period.

Michael suddenly resurfaced in 693, having organized a hit squad of his own, composed of his siblings and an estimated 12 to 15 other associates and enforcers, among which was Michael's first cousin, Vance Valaso. Together, they assaulted Greening, reportedly transforming the Yatela Household into a battlefield for hours, during which Michael's hit squad killed every last one of Veleno's bodyguards and security personnel. Ciro Veleno was eventually found inside Don Arsenio's office, reportedly about to surrender, when he was beaten, restrained, and dragged to Greening's social square center, where Yatela proceeded to give him a very public and very visible execution, through his trademark two shots in the chest followed by one shot in the head. Over Ciro Veleno's remains, he announced that "this is what happens to those who betray the family," before declaring himself the new Don, promoting all of his siblings to the rank of underboss, and giving each one control over the towns they had been sent to many years prior. Many of the surviving associates and enforcers that had helped Michael's hit squad received either promotions or generous rewards.

The new Don

The new Don Michael Yatela needed a new consigliere of his own. Having been part of the hit squad which resulted in the fall of Ciro Veleno's rule, seen as illegitimate, Vance Valaso was selected to be Michael's consigliere and right-hand man. The Don also declared that from here on, the consigliere must be part of the family to ensure absolute trust and prevent a new Ciro from rising.

With his siblings as the bosses of each town under the Syndicate's control, Don Yatela's ruling style is sometimes euphemistically described as "family-oriented".

The next year, in 694, Don Yatela began a famous campaign, Operation Toss the Pineapple, to solidify the Syndicate's control of the redlight industry. This two-year campaign eventually resulted in the Syndicate gaining control of the largest escort network in the world, and most importantly, in driving youkai prostitution rings out of business or into hiding. The brutal repression campaigns and the name of the operation - referencing a derogatory term used to refer to youkai escorts - have been considered to be a shift in priorities for the Syndicate, with some considering that the Yatela was now aligned with the human purity movement. Official statements denied any political or racial element in their operations, stating that it was "just business".


Personality

Michael Yatela is known, before all else, for his charisma and his friendly, sociable demeanor. Described since his teenage years as a "pretty face", he has long cultivated his appearance as an integral element of his personal image. Once quoted for saying that "a man can be judged by the effort he puts into presenting his-self (sic)," Yatela goes as far as berating capos that he believes did not make enough of an effort to present themselves properly.

In Yatela's own words, he values "real experience" and "street education" over book smarts, preferring the practical and pragmatic to the theoretical. He is suspected of having trouble understanding abstract or theoretical concepts if they aren't broken down as simply as possible. Yatela is also known for disliking books, newspapers, or any form of extended reading, which had led some experts to theorize that the Don may suffer from dyslexia, and possibly attention deficit disorder.

Heavily contrasting with his appearance, and more concerning that reading difficulties, are his known talents for extreme violence, and his relatively detached, almost casual attitude to perpetrating violent acts. Described by many who have seen him commit murders as "unflinching," the Syndicate Don seems to take neither pleasure nor disgust for the act of killing, being capable of performing acts of extreme brutality with cold, machine-like detachment. There is one exception to this rule; whenever he is dealing with what he considers to be traitors. In typical gangster fashion, Yatela considers traitorous behavior to be the worst thing imaginable; as he demonstrated with the fate of Ciro Veleno, the treatment he reserves for traitors is as spectacular as it is macabre.

Since Operation Toss the Pineapple, Michael Yatela has been accused of bigotry, with some theorizing that he belongs to the human purity movement, while others believe that he is tolerant of halflings but intolerant of youkai, in a similar manner to the Military's Colonel Wight. The Don has denied all allegations, stating that he is only interested in doing his business, no matter the cost.

Yatela is an avid movie fan; his favorite genre is vehicular fantasy.


Equipment and skills

Clothing and armor

Human/Halfling clothing and armor:

  • Headgear: Fedora
  • Top: Armored tuxedo
  • Bottom: Armored tuxedo trousers
  • Footwear: Leather shoes

Load-bearing equipment

Equipment and inventory

Equipped weapons:

  • Holster 1: Colt Python (6 /6, 6x .357 Magnum, Pocket Dragon JHP) - IS 5
    • Combined effects: FT +1, 2.52x damage against unarmored ACs, 0.7x damage against armored ACs, Recoil +2, 4x Condition lost on a critical failure
  • Eagle battle belt, Handgun holster: Beretta 93R (20+1 /20, 21x 9x19mm Parabellum, Standard FMJ)
    • Combined effects: FT +1, IR -1

Inventory:

Stats and skills

This character is a human. If a stat or skill is unlisted, assume the default for this character's species.

Skills: Species' natural skills + the following:

  • Combat skills: Expert (Semi-auto pistol, Automatic pistol, DA revolver, SA revolver), Basic (All other combat skills)
  • Non-combat skills: Expert (Negotiating), Basic (Hunting)
Retrieved from "http://mazeworld.net/w/index.php?title=Michael_Yatela&oldid=14837"