Hollowhaven scandal

The Hollowhaven scandal was a massive scandal that gained strong worldwide attention in early 2013. Originally initiated a group of serial killers who would murder "snitches" for bounty known as "The Blackwater Order" was found to have initiated a fire in a nuclear power plant in Hollowhaven which did not result in a nuclear meltdown, but caused the entire southern portion of the region to lose power. Despite this, the scandal has deeper roots where a murder in the neighborhood of a character named John Lancaster, carried out by The Blackwater Order, occurred at the same time that the nuclear power plant construction was completed.

The Goldspire city council was a huge player in the scandal for building the power plant far below safety standards and without any public consultation, and for refusing to investigate two murders before and a hostage situation after the near nuclear meltdown. This led to an investigation by the DIB and the Whitewater regional council. This investigation revealed that the "snitch" which most of the scandal revolved around, John Lancaster, was held hostage in the basement of the Regional Headquarters building in Whitewater Run. It is assumed that The Blackwater Order did not murder Lancaster because he possessed valuable information that may have been of use to them.

After the investigation revealed negligence and a failure to hold a public consultation for a potentially dangerous establishment (which is required by national law) and all council members were automatically removed from office and the regional and national council placed a restraining order on the Goldspire council leaders which would prohibit them from ever entering a political position in the nation of Durham. In addition the national council charged the council leader with treason of the region for working with The Blackwater Order to prevent news of the council's operations in the power plant therefore allowing further homicide of those that they had thought were unwelcome snitches in the region.

The scandal goes even deeper in that the city council was planning to work with NexPower, a region wide power provider, to cut off government supplied power to the entire region and supply it via the nuclear power plant if the regional council granted the city council permission. The regional council originally gave clearance to the proposal since the regional council would receive a large check every month for taking over the power supply. It was found a few months after the investigation that the regional council bought into this bribe, and the national council placed the same restraining order on the head of state as they had on all members of the Goldspire city council.

Finally, the snitches that The Blackwater Order were talking about played no role in previous operations carried out by the group. The Order had plans to overthrow the regional government and install control as a fascist and totalitarian government which would secede from the nation of Durham.

Eventually, the regional council took over the region which had been severely injured because of the massive scandal and made it a province. This became the very first province that was run by the national council instead of a provincial council (the only being the Capital District.) From here, the province made a slow but steady recovery, economic and population wise. In the end regarding The Blackwater Order, all but 3 of its 7 members were sentenced to execution (they were the first that had received that sentence in nearly 150 years) and the remaining 3 were sentenced to a total of 650 years in prison and were detained in the nation's most highly secured prison.

Key Players
John Lancaster - the whistle blower in the scandal

Clark Bell - the leader of the Blackwater Order

David Gent - the leader of the regional council

Timeline
A series of murders plus an arson occur in two cities.

Clark and the rest of the Order are found in an office next to John Lancaster.

The Hollowhaven Nuclear Power Plant is set ablaze by the Order.

The Order holds Lancaster hostage with clearance from the Goldspire city council.

A military raid in the hostage situation frees Lancaster.

An investigation carried out finds and sentences the Order.

Both the regional and Goldspire city councils are punished for their roles in the scandal. Lancaster is paid $750,000 for his efforts.

The national government takes over the region.