Dunno if I agree, if they are tied into the story, I think it works. I mean the story is gonna have lots of characters by default, since he's got dual lives, both of which is branched out into multiple groups. On the one hand, the school which has students, faculty, and the families involved. The other, gangster life, which has the community, the multiple gangs and their members, and then his own group.
It may very well be a creep in character additions, but it can also just be a fleshing of the story.