Boss Spotlight: Stephanie St. Clair

[MissDeliana]

Stephanie St. Clair is a well-dressed tornado, blown into America from an island in the Caribbean called Martinique. The whirlwind she unleashed when she arrived on the streets of Harlem, somewhere between the ages of thirteen and twenty-three, carved a path of annihilation and domination, unmooring well established gangs from their foundations and flattening anything that came up against her.

St. Clair earned her riches and her nickname, “The Queen of Numbers,” through policy banking rackets in Harlem. With a title like that, it’s no surprise that her contemporaries describe her as aloof, though Stephanie has never forgotten where she came from. Her work benefits herself first, of course, but she never hesitates to give back where she can. She is vocal against injustices and quick to remind people of their rights. Her philanthropic nature ensures that those she’s helped will have her back when she calls on them.

Despite this, Stephanie has always had more of a “do it yourself” mentality. Anyone unwise enough to move in on her territory must be prepared to watch as she lays their crumbling empire at their feet. She has no qualms about doing the dirty work herself either, and in fact, relishes it. Rather than diminish her involvement in any destruction, she doubles down, taking out a newspaper advertisement stating her responsibility for it and warning antagonists not to go any further. After a spat with a New York mob boss that wound up with said boss dying in hospital from a gunshot wound, St. Clair sent a telegram to his bedside that simply said: “As ye sow, so shall ye reap.”

Enforcing your own law on cease-and-desist cases is the kind of badass disregard that owns cities before too long. Chicago, as far as Stephanie is concerned, is primed for new leadership. It has just the type of wildness, wickedness, and “take what you want” attitude that suits Stephanie’s mannerism, and presents a whole new challenge she’s just dying to rise to. This is something that the city’s gangsters would want to consider when making room for this newcomer. There is no enemy Stephanie will not step up to, disgrace publicly, and then brag about in the following morning’s paper. The only question is: who’s big enough to go against her?


PAID NEWSPAPER EDITORIAL THAT STEPHANIE PUT OUT ABOUT HERSELF UPON MOVING TO CHICAGO

To whom it may concern;-

Consider this the announcement of my arrival in Chicago. Do not think for a second that you hold any more stake over this fine city than I, solely because you have lived here longer. Such beliefs will prove inconsequential in matters relating to my business ventures, and public relations there in.

In truth, I have grown tired of New York and its endless bickering for pennies. The real money lies in the future of Chicago. Some men hope for the luxury of believing I was run out of Harlem, and to this I say fairytales are for children, and you are not children, are you? Simply, I have conducted all the business that Harlem can muster, and now I have my sights set on expanding my horizons here.

There are many who believe that I am penniless. This may have been true at the start of my life, but I assure you all, that I have built myself to the very antithesis of poverty through my proud work as a policy banker. Still, attempts have been made to frame me by some of the bravest and noblest cowards to ever wear civilian clothes. They cannot touch the sensibilities or fortune of I, an honest and most upstanding businesswoman.

I have had enemies telephone my private line every night since my arrival. They said they plan to write me off, to take me for a ride that I won’t come back from. To them I say, thank you for making me laugh. I have been so busy with business of late, that I had forgotten the benefit of humor to the human spirit. Make no mistake, such threats do nothing but make me smile. They sound so silly to me. Especially coming from such simple and ineloquent men. Now, they say they will report me and say that I carry a gun in my possession.

There are many more things they are planning to do, but they will not be successful. I have an ear to sources that they do not have the capacity to imagine, and so I will hear about such attempts, three to seven days in advance. Let it be known here, that if such thinly constructed threats continue to annoy me over my private line, I shall publish their names and letters in this very newspaper.

Many people say how they fear for me and my safety and how I ought to be careful in how I have been conducting my actions. Please, do not fear for me. I ask only that you listen to my advice and do as I told you.
In conclusion, I will say that I do not fear anyone. I respect most everybody and shall expect respect in return. Chicago is my new home, and I plan to keep it so. It just needs some redecorating, and certain people better not get in the way of that.

MME. STEPHANIE ST. CLAIR



Watch the Chicago Chronicles video on Stephanie St. Clair here:

 

[Andre Bolkonsky]

Her successor, Bumpy Johnson, is far more famous and far more interesting. She is yet another mid level boss broken by Mafia control when Lucky Luciano took over her rackets and let Bumpy famously run Harlem under his protection after she lost her war with Dutch Schultz and was left badly exposed.

BTW, Dutch Schultz is the gangster who got the ‘as you sow, so shall you reap’ telegram. But it was Lucky and the Commission that took Schultz down because he wanted to murder federal prosecutors Thomas Dewey even though the Commission said 'no' - it would have been disastrous for the rackets. Enter Luciano's hit squad - Murder, Inc. - down goes Dutch Schultz and Schultz's rackets once more come under Luciano's control for dispersal to his lieutenants. She had nothing to do with the hit despite the game's claim she likes to do her own dirty work, but she did send a telegram.

The game's 'letter' where she says she has done all she can in New York and is moving to Chicago and bigger prizes, make way? For the record she cut a deal with the Mafia, abandoned her Numbers empire to Bumpy who got a percentage, and she went legit.

This one is a pc choice checking boxes, leaving more interesting and better gangsters standing on the sideline - especially Bumpy Johnson.

 

[Andre Bolkonsky]

However, as a boss, do I understand her special power is the ability to whisper loudly into the Newspaper's ear and use her organization's PR management for or against you?

 

[Lord Hoosier]

I expected a bit less box checking from a historically themed PDX title, I do not mind "diverse" characters, but it feels wrong to have so many vastly more influential figures being left to the wayside. Not to mention Irish and Italians were both treated at least nearly as poorly as blacks in the northern cities like Chicago. (My family was Chicago Irish and lived this history, we know.) This really should have been Bumpy Johnson as @Andre Bolkonsky said above.

 

[Andre Bolkonsky]

I expected a bit less box checking from a historically themed PDX title, I do not mind "diverse" characters, but it feels wrong to have so many vastly more influential figures being left to the wayside. Not to mention Irish and Italians were both treated at least nearly as poorly as blacks in the northern cities like Chicago. (My family was Chicago Irish and lived this history, we know.) This really should have been Bumpy Johnson as @Andre Bolkonsky said above.

Hymie Weiss, the only man in Chicago Capone feared, is still on ice. Break him out!

Handsome Johnny and his sniper rifle could come in handy

Momo, Joe Batters, the list of Chicago gangsters is rich.

And if we are breaking New Yorkers into Chicago, the Bugs Meyer Gang is replete with flavor.

 

[Eber]

I expected a bit less box checking from a historically themed PDX title, I do not mind "diverse" characters, but it feels wrong to have so many vastly more influential figures being left to the wayside. Not to mention Irish and Italians were both treated at least nearly as poorly as blacks in the northern cities like Chicago. (My family was Chicago Irish and lived this history, we know.) This really should have been Bumpy Johnson as @Andre Bolkonsky said above.

Honestly, I would argue the fact that Bumpy Johnson is far more famous, at least when it comes to the "right" reasons. He definitely gets more of the headlines but that's due to two reasons. He was a male and he was the enforcer for St. Clair before taking over. Let me explain.

It isn't unreasonable to think that Bumpy being a male would catapult him to more fame than a woman in a profession that is incredibly violent and male-dominant. It makes sense. Also, Bumpy Johnson was far more flashy, whereas St. Clair tried to stay away from the limelight. That's actually the very reason why she gave up her control because she needed to keep the heat low after her imprisonment for the death of her husband. She didn't want the attention. Also, though she gave up her control, she still communicated with Bumpy over the years and some say still gave input on how the Harlem gang should run.

The second reason, Bumpy being her enforcer, is a vital reason why he does get talked about more. He was the muscle for St. Clair and was a crucial cog in finally defeating Dutch Schultz. Any mob buff knows their enforcers as they are the ones who do the hits and the flashy actions of their organization, you know everything that makes headlines. So even under St. Clair, he was making himself known to the street, including Lucky Luciano.

My point is I don't believe Paradox was really trying to be "PC" with this pick. First, what other "vastly more influential figures", especially Irish or Italians, were left behind besides possibly Weiss, Moran (he was more of a lackey), or the Genna's in Chicago? I didn't include Colosimo or Torrio, as the former was died pretty early and Torrio was eclipsed by Capone pretty quickly even if he did mentor him. As for New York, there are some options like Lansky, Siegal, Yale, or even Rothstein. There is an argument for any of them to be included of course.

Stephanie St. Clair is a legitimate crime boss that ran Harlem. I understand that when it comes to the mafia and organized crime that Italians and somewhat the Irish get a lot of the attention, but we can't forget about the Harlem bosses. I'm sorry, but I don't believe it's a "check box". She deserves far more respect than that.

Lastly, I don't believe we have seen every single character that is playable yet. Also, as the developers said, mods can add characters that they miss.

 

[Andre Bolkonsky]

Honestly, I would argue the fact that Bumpy Johnson is far more famous, at least when it comes to the "right" reasons. He definitely gets more of the headlines but that's due to two reasons. He was a male and he was the enforcer for St. Clair before taking over. Let me explain.

It isn't unreasonable to think that Bumpy being a male would catapult him to more fame than a woman in a profession that is incredibly violent and male-dominant. It makes sense. Also, Bumpy Johnson was far more flashy, whereas St. Clair tried to stay away from the limelight. That's actually the very reason why she gave up her control because she needed to keep the heat low after her imprisonment for the death of her husband. She didn't want the attention. Also, though she gave up her control, she still communicated with Bumpy over the years and some say still gave input on how the Harlem gang should run.

The second reason, Bumpy being her enforcer, is a vital reason why he does get talked about more. He was the muscle for St. Clair and was a crucial cog in finally defeating Dutch Schultz. Any mob buff knows their enforcers as they are the ones who do the hits and the flashy actions of their organization, you know everything that makes headlines. So even under St. Clair, he was making himself known to the street, including Lucky Luciano.

My point is I don't believe Paradox was really trying to be "PC" with this pick. First, what other "vastly more influential figures", especially Irish or Italians, were left behind besides possibly Weiss, Moran (he was more of a lackey), or the Genna's in Chicago? I didn't include Colosimo or Torrio, as the former was died pretty early and Torrio was eclipsed by Capone pretty quickly even if he did mentor him. As for New York, there are some options like Lansky, Siegal, Yale, or even Rothstein. There is an argument for any of them to be included of course.

Stephanie St. Clair is a legitimate crime boss that ran Harlem. I understand that when it comes to the mafia and organized crime that Italians and somewhat the Irish get a lot of the attention, but we can't forget about the Harlem bosses. I'm sorry, but I don't believe it's a "check box". She deserves far more respect than that.

Lastly, I don't believe we have seen every single character that is playable yet. Also, as the developers said, mods can add characters that they miss.

Your loyalty to Paradox is admirable, but your points miss the mark. If I may make a few rebuttals in no certain order:

• Marie St. Clair lost the war with Dutch Schultz, who assumed control of the Harlem rackets.
• Bumpy works for and is mentored by St. Clair, but he is the one who wages war against Schultz in a very very effective guerrilla campaign while she sits back home
• Luciano's Murder Inc. waxed Schultz, not St. Clair. Luciano then took control of Harlem and allied with the impressive young guerrilla fighter to run it for him while St. Clair went to jail then went legit while keeping tabs on old friends.
• We are not forgetting the Harlem Godfathers, we are holding up a man universally recognized as THE Harlem Godfather for forty years. Bumpy Johnson, a man who plays chess with Luciano and hangs out with Malcolm Little before and after he becomes Malcolm X. He dresses like an aristocrat in the manner of Luciano, rules with an iron rod in one hand while the other hand is open and benevolent, and is ruthless when crossed. As you agree above, he is a far richer cultural icon, more vicious, dangerous, poetic, benevolent and intelligent than any other godfather in the history of Harlem.

One problem. Bumpy is a Black Male Numbers Runner. You already have a Black Male Numbers Runner with our mortician friend. Can't have two bosses with the same profile. Bumpy is the better choice, but Jackson is from Chicago.

Ergo, kill two birds with one stone. You check a box and use the name of a Black female numbers runner named St. Clair while merging these two people into one powerful entity, which is the only way you can now say she does not mind doing her dirty work and going to war herself. But she pales in comparison.

The devs can do what they want, its their game; but it is a political decision.

 

[Eber]

Your loyalty to Paradox is admirable, but your points miss the mark. If I may make a few rebuttals in no certain order:

• Marie St. Clair lost the war with Dutch Schultz, who assumed control of the Harlem rackets.
• Bumpy works for and is mentored by St. Clair, but he is the one who wages war against Schultz in a very very effective guerrilla campaign while she sits back home
• Luciano's Murder Inc. waxed Schultz, not St. Clair. Luciano then took control of Harlem and allied with the impressive young guerrilla fighter to run it for him while St. Clair went to jail then went legit while keeping tabs on old friends.
• We are not forgetting the Harlem Godfathers, we are holding up a man universally recognized as THE Harlem Godfather for forty years. Bumpy Johnson, a man who plays chess with Luciano and hangs out with Malcolm Little before and after he becomes Malcolm X. He dresses like an aristocrat in the manner of Luciano, rules with an iron rod in one hand while the other hand is open and benevolent, and is ruthless when crossed. As you agree above, he is a far richer cultural icon, more vicious, dangerous, poetic, benevolent and intelligent than any other godfather in the history of Harlem.

One problem. Bumpy is a Black Male Numbers Runner. You already have a Black Male Numbers Runner with our mortician friend. Can't have two bosses with the same profile. Bumpy is the better choice, but Jackson is from Chicago.

Ergo, kill two birds with one stone. You check a box and use the name of a Black female numbers runner named St. Clair while merging these two people into one powerful entity, which is the only way you can now say she does not mind doing her dirty work and going to war herself. But she pales in comparison.

The devs can do what they want, its their game; but it is a political decision.

So I respect your rebuttals, but I do have a few counterpoints.

1) It's not about loyalty to Paradox. It's about seeing the whole picture while also being a huge historian on organized crime history.
2) So St. Clair did lose the war with Schultz. But Bumpy Johnson was with her the whole time so he lost as well. They lost because Schultz still had the backing of Luciano and the Italians. There was no way they would win against that.
3) Bumpy did wage a guerilla campaign, but it was more of a nuisance. The ONLY reason Schultz lost is because he wanted to kill Dewey, and when the Italians refused to approve of the assassination, Schultz continued with his plans. Luciano then had Schultz killed because he went against them. Bumpy Johnson and his guerrilla campaign was only a small mark and had no real impact on the outcome. Not once did I ever say St. Clair killed Schultz. However, she did send a famous message on his death bed, "As ye sow, so shall ye reap."
4) With Schultz dead, Luciano needed someone to take over the Harlem rackets. By this time, St. Clair had given over her control to Bumpy. So it was Bumpy who negotiated with Luciano and then proceeded to control it until his death.
5) I am not discounting Bumpy Johnson at all. I like your admiration for him. But without St. Clair, Bumpy Johnson never would have existed. You know all about Bumpy's origin, but St. Clair was a pistol in her own right. She stabbed her first boyfriend with a fork in the eye when he tried to pimp her out. She killed another boyfriend after trying to choke her. It was her that created the numbers racket in Harlem. It was because of her that Schultz and the Italians saw how lucrative Harlem could be. Bumpy just took them over and did expand somewhat with the blessing of Luciano and also time.
6) Was Bumpy more interesting? It depends on your definition. There is more history to tell of Bumpy, especially after Schultz's death. That is the primary reason he is more talked about, because he had a longer career in organized crime. St. Clair bowed out much earlier, similar to what Johnny Torrio did. Later in her life, she was more of a social justice warrior as she had left her criminal past behind. But she was very interesting, mysterious in many ways as she didn't like the limelight, and was incredibly ferocious when she got angry. She was called Queenie and was known for her styled look and her flamboyance. I think they did business differently. But she does not pale in comparison besides the number of years as a boss (which was her decision).

We could go on and on, but it's probably irrelevant. We obviously have a fundamental difference of opinion when it comes to not only these two gangsters but Paradox's reasons for including them. My only major opinion is that I don't believe it was a political decision. There are other females in the game. I truly believe they wanted to give respect to Harlem's first crime lord, the one who mentored Bumpy; and like I said before, without her, Bumpy wouldn't probably have become known.

 

[Andre Bolkonsky]

So I respect your rebuttals, but I do have a few counterpoints.

1) It's not about loyalty to Paradox. It's about seeing the whole picture while also being a huge historian on organized crime history.
2) So St. Clair did lose the war with Schultz. But Bumpy Johnson was with her the whole time so he lost as well. They lost because Schultz still had the backing of Luciano and the Italians. There was no way they would win against that.
3) Bumpy did wage a guerilla campaign, but it was more of a nuisance. The ONLY reason Schultz lost is because he wanted to kill Dewey, and when the Italians refused to approve of the assassination, Schultz continued with his plans. Luciano then had Schultz killed because he went against them. Bumpy Johnson and his guerrilla campaign was only a small mark and had no real impact on the outcome. Not once did I ever say St. Clair killed Schultz. However, she did send a famous message on his death bed, "As ye sow, so shall ye reap."
4) With Schultz dead, Luciano needed someone to take over the Harlem rackets. By this time, St. Clair had given over her control to Bumpy. So it was Bumpy who negotiated with Luciano and then proceeded to control it until his death.
5) I am not discounting Bumpy Johnson at all. I like your admiration for him. But without St. Clair, Bumpy Johnson never would have existed. You know all about Bumpy's origin, but St. Clair was a pistol in her own right. She stabbed her first boyfriend with a fork in the eye when he tried to pimp her out. She killed another boyfriend after trying to choke her. It was her that created the numbers racket in Harlem. It was because of her that Schultz and the Italians saw how lucrative Harlem could be. Bumpy just took them over and did expand somewhat with the blessing of Luciano and also time.
6) Was Bumpy more interesting? It depends on your definition. There is more history to tell of Bumpy, especially after Schultz's death. That is the primary reason he is more talked about, because he had a longer career in organized crime. St. Clair bowed out much earlier, similar to what Johnny Torrio did. Later in her life, she was more of a social justice warrior as she had left her criminal past behind. But she was very interesting, mysterious in many ways as she didn't like the limelight, and was incredibly ferocious when she got angry. She was called Queenie and was known for her styled look and her flamboyance. I think they did business differently. But she does not pale in comparison besides the number of years as a boss (which was her decision).

We could go on and on, but it's probably irrelevant. We obviously have a fundamental difference of opinion when it comes to not only these two gangsters but Paradox's reasons for including them. My only major opinion is that I don't believe it was a political decision. There are other females in the game. I truly believe they wanted to give respect to Harlem's first crime lord, the one who mentored Bumpy; and like I said before, without her, Bumpy wouldn't probably have become known.

This is a very enjoyable conversation if nothing else.

And the dog has begun to chase its tail so I will bid you a good day for now and see you on the next boss where we can decide where to split the hair.

 

[ZechsMerquise73]

Her successor, Bumpy Johnson, is far more famous and far more interesting. She is yet another mid level boss broken by Mafia control when Lucky Luciano took over her rackets and let Bumpy famously run Harlem under his protection after she lost her war with Dutch Schultz and was left badly exposed.

BTW, Dutch Schultz is the gangster who got the ‘as you sow, so shall you reap’ telegram. But it was Lucky and the Commission that took Schultz down because he wanted to murder federal prosecutors Thomas Dewey even though the Commission said 'no' - it would have been disastrous for the rackets. Enter Luciano's hit squad - Murder, Inc. - down goes Dutch Schultz and Schultz's rackets once more come under Luciano's control for dispersal to his lieutenants. She had nothing to do with the hit despite the game's claim she likes to do her own dirty work, but she did send a telegram.

The game's 'letter' where she says she has done all she can in New York and is moving to Chicago and bigger prizes, make way? For the record she cut a deal with the Mafia, abandoned her Numbers empire to Bumpy who got a percentage, and she went legit.

This one is a pc choice checking boxes, leaving more interesting and better gangsters standing on the sideline - especially Bumpy Johnson.

I mean, you can still play as Alf Landon in HOI after he got his ass kicked, 582 to 8. What does effectiveness have to do with it? They could clean up any false internal narrative, but why wouldn't you want to play as a zany Caribbean gangster who married someone known as "Black Hitler"? It's, at least, better than having completely fictional female gangsters, like the old, seminal Gangsters series did.

 

[BrotherJonathan]

Cool that the "Black mafia" is getting represented, as they tend to get ignored by pop culture, even in America.