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Slugs Piombino

Iacopo "Slugs" Piombino (1992-) was an Italian-American gangster who made a name for himself as a career criminal in southern California in 2017. Originally a Mafia associate from New Jersey, Piombino moved to Los Angeles in 2017 after developing ties with The Families gang members, and he became an infamous gun-for-hire and armed robber. Piombino enjoyed the thrill of robbery sprees and outrunning the police, and he soon became a widely-known criminal in Blaine County after terrorizing liquor stores, gas stations, and convenience stores across the county. Piombino would soon make Blaine County his base of operations, donning a cowboy hat, wielding revolvers, and engaging in several store robberies. Piombino's Wild West-like antics led to him being nicknamed "The Italian Cowboy".

Biography

Early life

Piombino plane

Piombino on the plane to LAX

Iacopo Piombino was born in Hoboken, New Jersey in 1992 to a family of Italian descent. Piombino's family was involved with the American Mafia, and Piombino became involved with the Mob at a young age. Piombino was arrested for carrying out several auto thefts for the Pavano crime family, and he started doing hits during his late teens. Piombino was nicknamed "Slugs" for using a shotgun as his weapon of choice during hits and robberies, and he became a well-known member of Speedy Jack's "Carjack Crew" in New York City. Piombino's skills at car theft and murder led to him befriending African-American gangster Lamar Davis online; Davis was a renowned criminal from Los Angeles, California, who also engaged in car theft. In 2017, Davis invited Piombino to come to California to work with him, as he had several connections. Piombino was dissatisfied with the lack of mobility in the New York Mafia, so he decided to head to California for a fresh start in the criminal world. Piombino embarked on a plane from John F. Kennedy International Airport to Los Angeles International Airport, taking with him his suit and his pocket money. As he looked down on southern California from his plane's window, Slugs Piombino began thinking of the opportunities that he would have: he wanted to become involved with bounty hunting, drug trafficking, working for CEOs, connecting with biker gangs, and engaging in robberies across the state.

Arrival in LA

Piombino Lamar

Piombino meeting Lamar Davis, 2017

Piombino arrived in the city early in the morning and met Davis in front of the airport, and the two friends greeted each other before Davis handed him a Taurus PT92 pistol in his Cadillac sedan, telling him that it was untraceable. Davis drove him to a street race organized by his friend, parking at a Hollywood parking lot so that Piombino could choose his car. Piombino chose a red Ford Crown Victoria sedan, and he defeated Lamar in a race that took them through the northern parts of the city. Davis saw potential in Piombino, and he decided to introduce him to The Families drug dealer Gerald G. Piombino was paid $500 to disrupt a deal between the Ballas and Vagos, and he had to pursue the drugs carrier upstate into Blaine County, where he killed him and took his drugs. He returned the drugs to Gerald for payment, and Gerald decided to use Piombino as an associate. Piombino was also referred to the Armenian car dealer Simeon Yetarian, who employed Davis; Yetarian wanted Piombino to take valuable cars to him for resale. 

Rise to power

Piombino lowriders

Piombino wearing a lowrider outfit

Piombino did odd jobs for Gerald, Yetarian, and Davis, and he assisted Davis with his lowrider missions; he killed several Ballas and Vagos leaders at a sitdown after attempting to provoke a gang war, defended a deal with some South Korean gangsters from the Ballas, busted Gerald out of a prison transport, assassinated several Vagos members at a funeral, stole some lowriders from the Vagos, and acquired two lowriders so that Lamar could give a peace offering to OG Vernon. Piombino made a lot of money from his jobs, and he initially settled in a small apartment in the city. However, he later bought a high-end suite in the Richards Majestic hotel, and he bought a new car, a silver Chrysler Crossfire, which he equipped with bulletproof wheels, armor, and new attributes to make it into a "pimped-out" racing and business vehicle. Piombino was later contacted by Trevor Philips, who forced Piombino to work for him after Piombino stole a meth RV from Trevor Philips Enterprises, and the Mexican crime boss Martin Madrazo decided to employ Piombino to wipe out rival gangsters who took advantage of his kindness and mistook it for weakness.

Armed robber

Piombino survival

Slugs Piombino became one of the most infamous armed robbers of southern California by carrying out several robberies across Los Angeles and Blaine County. Piombino usually went behind the register, punched the store clerk, and stole the cash from the register before running off; he would then shake off the police and head to his next target. Piombino preferred to rob targets in Blaine County, as there were less roads to avoid and large concentrations of stores in small areas, while the city had more roads with more cop cars and less nearby stores. Piombino eventually gained a level of notoriety from his actions, so he decided to mask his appearance by dropping his mobster apperance and taking on an athletic 1970s appearance. Piombino, an Italian Catholic, bought some religious tattoos, and he also bought a tattoo of the American flag on his back and of a seductive female mechanic on his right arm. Piombino then purchased a sports polo, olive shorts, and olive sneakers, and he got a haircut, grew out a mustache, beard, and sideburns, and purchased aviators. Piombino would use this new appearance to ensure that the police could not identify him from previous photos.

The Italian Cowboy

Piombino revolver

Piombino with the golden revolver

Piombino became one of the most notorious robbers in the region, carrying out several robbery sprees; he acquired a reputation for his Wild West-like cowboy antics. One day, he received a mysterious email from the Van der Linde family, which showed him a picture of a piece of land near the Sandy Shores airfield that contained a clue as to the location of a hidden treasure. Piombino located the area of the hint, finding a note that said that the family was torn apart by the search for the treasure, and that the treasurewere moved. Piombino searched for more clues; he found the body of Rory van der Linde in a cave in the Tongva Hills, a shovel next to the Alamo Sea at the Sandy Shores marina, and the bodies of Billy van der Linde and Bobby van der Linde in the Hollywood Hills. The two dead brothers were next to a box containing the treasure, and Piombino opened the box. It turned out to contain the two golden pistols of the 19th century Texas outlaw Dutch van der Linde, who had been killed in 1911. Piombino now fulfilled his desire to become a modern-day cowboy, and he would first use the pistol during some shootouts with the Vagos in Florence, Los Angeles.

Bounty hunter

Slugs bounty hunter

Piombino as a bounty hunter

Slugs Piombino would continue to make money through store robberies, but he also became a feared bounty hunter. He would typically rush up to targets (either on foot or on a vehicle) and shoot them dead; other times, he would prefer to use a sniper rifle, or, if the targets had managed to reach the safety of their apartments or safehouses, Piombino would park a car outside of the main entrance, attach C4 plastic explosives to it, and detonate it if the target exited. Piombino himself was subjected to several bounties for stealing civilians' cars; he had a case of bad luck when it came to stealing the cars of people with criminal connections.

Gallery

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