Chodo Contague
From Glen Cook Wiki
Chodo Contague is the Kingpin of the Outfit, TunFaire's organized crime syndicate, for the first several books in the series. He rose to the position in the chaos following the assassination of the previous Kingpin, Kolchak, which came at the end of Sweet Silver Blues and was orchestrated by Morley Dotes.
While wheelchair-bound by a non-specified condition, Chodo is still a very menacing figure. Simply making eye contact with him is enough to make lesser men wet themselves. As head of the Outfit, he ranks just behind the Royals as the most powerful force in TunFaire - able to put thousands of men on the street, cutting thousands of throats, with simply a word.
Chodo lives in a sprawling compound north of TunFaire. The walls of the compound are low - an invitation, rather than an oversight, as he keeps carnivorous Thunder Lizards rather than guard dogs. It is said that he has survived assassination attempts he doesn't even know about, because the lizards eat the would-be assassin, and all of his equipment. There are two ways to get past this defense, though - the paths are enchanted to keep the lizards away, and Chodo has stone pendants that he gives to trusted men beholden to him that allow them to pass through the lizards without being eaten.
Chodo's home is a huge affair - the most notable feature being an indoor swimming pool, usually bedecked with frolicking naked women.
Chodo's chief Leutenants, Crask & Sadler, provided the muscle to back up Chodo's commands. However, in Dread Brass Shadows, upon realizing the plot stirring in Chodo's mind, they turned against him, and with the aid of Garrett and Winger, they attempted to assassinate him. In the confusion caused by an attack of the supporters of the witch Serpent, and the Dwarves, all seeking the same item as he, Chodo was struck by a poison ring by the Serpent. While it apparently did not kill him, he suffered a stroke, and was completely incapacitated. Crask & Sadler continued to pretend to take their orders from him, while planning the eventual coup that would leave them in control of the outfit. Unfortunately, they were unprepared for a move by Chodo's daughter, Belinda, who, with the aid of the Dead Man, engineered Belinda's rise to the top. Now she, too, parades her seemingly brain-dead father around, pretending to interperet his orders for the troops.
He has another daughter in the city of Ymber, Penny Dreadful, who eventually comes to TunFaire.
