In its beginning, the syndicate represented one of the 10 ruling crime families in North America.  In 1945, Lorenzo "the Stinger" Scorpio, a former associate of the Chicago mafia, formed his own family organization with the blessing of the other families.  At first, the syndicate flourished.  The families were able to work out reasonable percentages of their respected operations.  However, a gang war in 1955 proved to be costly for Scorpio.  After losing the war, he negotiated an alliance with one of the strongest mob families in the country.  They offered him a chance to relocate and control a new city, in return for all his remaining territories in Chicago.  Scorpio found fresh life in New York.  He controlled a significant piece of the action as he ascended to the peak of organized crime.  Scorpio continued to rule until his death in 1968.  The new boss, Joey "Big Daddy" Marino, was forced to leave New York in order to escape a more powerful family.  This rising family had a strong ally: the Group of 13.  Marino wanted to challenge the 13, but he needed the right firepower.  He decided to meet with other crime families and form a new association.  Their focus: destroy the 13.  His top lieutenant, Antonio Stavros, knew about his boss's plan, but had his own designs on controlling the family business.  Stavros used this window of opportunity to contact the 13, offering to eliminate his boss in exchange for protection.  They agreed to his proposal.  Stavros killed his boss and became the head of Scorpio.  The group kept their promise and left him alone to govern his new empire.  Stavros took the syndicate to a higher level and started rebuilding the family.  But the syndicate made one enemy that would haunt them to this very day, the Shadow Chaser.  In 1987, the war with the vigilante came to a bloody end with the death of Antonio Stavros and the disappearance of the Shadow Chaser.  With Scorpio on its knees, the other families moved in for the kill.  A new and bloodier gang war emerged, causing the deaths of hundreds of innocent people.  The war lasted for years, until a new soldier emerged from the smoke; he was ruthless and hid his identity to the world.  They called him the One.  The Scorpio Syndicate was on the verge of losing the gang war, until the One sold his soul to the Devil.  The One knew the only way to win was to make a deal with the most dangerous criminal organization of all time, the Group of 13.  With the group's help, the Scorpio Syndicate won the war and swallowed a huge swath of the North American market.  This was more than Antonio Stavros could have ever done as head of the family.  However, the syndicate now belonged to the 13.  They claimed a 60 percent stake, which gave them the right to dictate policy.  In return, the group provided protection and power.  The One's top lieutenants are Franky Dice, a.k.a “the Dice Man" and Graham Cassidy, the murderer of Chloe Bellecoeur.  Once again, the syndicate became the most powerful of the crime families.  Now, they have but one thing that standing in their way: the return of the Shadow Chaser.