Basileus Crime Syndicate (D5)

The Basileus is a major player in the world of organised crime amongst the Twelve Colonies.

Origin
The Basileus Crime Syndicate was formed well before the First Cylon War began. It was the result of political maneuvering and outright assassinations that brought about the crime syndicate that would run organized crime and the black market on Canceron before eventually branching out to other colonies. It was all the brain child of Carl Tolan. While its actions were known, Tolan made sure the Basileus had a feared reputation. It helped to keep witnesses quiet and the authorities at bay as well as making the Tolan family both rich and infamous. The few Tolans who attempted to lead a life outside of the syndicate found this out the hard way with the family reputation acting more as an impediment.

Power Struggles
There were several attempts to wrest control away from Carl Tolan. The most well known attempt involved a shooting that claimed the life of Andrew Tolan, Carl's grandson. The shooting was witnessed by Andrew's younger brother, Scott. When Carl Tolan finally died there was a power struggle among his surviving children with ties to the Basileus. The victor would be his eldest daughter Lydia Tolan, who had by then married and taken the surname of Lydia Zeresi.

Rescuing the President’s Sister and Niece
(RotV) Approximately six years before ‘The Fall’ the Basileus would play a major, if somewhat quiet, role in the rescue of President Adar’s sister and niece from the Sagittaron Liberation Army (SLA). Scott Tolan (by then a Commander in the Colonial Fleet) used his family connections within the syndicate to make contact with the SLA in order to locate the hostages.

Government Targets
The operation had an unfortunate consequence in the two years immediately after. In an effort to help cover up the criminal aspect of the rescue, Admiral Corman along with the Ministry of Intelligence (MoI) arranged several assassinations of several high profile members including a failed attempt on Lydia Zeresi. This was in violation of the Articles of Colonization. When Galit Malka was discovered commanding a Faststar by the crew of the Battlestar Hermes she admitted to Commander Artimus Bowman that she had been involved in at least two assassinations of members of the syndicate. The government ceased the assassinations when the Basileus used its connections within the free press to expose the operations.

‘The Fall’
The destruction of the Twelve Colonies did not completely destroy the Basileus. At least three members were aboard the transport ship Simonides when they were rescued by the Battlestar Hermes. While in 'The Sum' they organized their own criminal faction (with the help of at least two corrupt Marine guards) to take control of the civilian population making sure they lived in fear before they were finally killed in an uprising.