Setting/Crime, Civil and Law

Law: Austria's legal system is drawn from both German and Roman law. The system ensures that laws and ordinances conform to higher laws (such as the Constitution, which is especially protected). The judicial system is independent of the executive and legislative branches. The constitution establishes that judges are independent when acting in their judicial function. Whereas policing (and authority over law enforcement) generally rests within the authority of the federal, provincial and municipal administrative agencies.

Civil: Vienna is the capital of the Republic of Austria. It is the country's biggest city and seat of many international organizations (official UN seat, OSCE headquarters). The city takes a special position in Austria seeing as it is both a city and a federal province.

Crime: Because of the close proximity to Italy and previous status of Vienna as multicultural capital city and gateway between East and West and North and South, it probably is notsurprising that the Italian Families used to hold a great influence, in fact, by sharing a similar code of honor among their peers, managed to forge treaties with the local Strizzis.

The increasing numbers of Slavs and Turks allowed the Turkish mafia to grow and unite many of the smaller Mediterranean and Middle Eastern crime families and ultimately even threatened the Austro-Italian dominion over Vienna. However, none of these factions were prepared for the sheer power and brutality of the East European Mafia who launched a literal assault on the local crime world.