Born in 1951, Tommy indicates that his father worked all his life in a printing shop, and adds that he has, years later, fond childhood memories of helping his father clean the rollers. Vercetti had wanted to follow his father in the family business, but Tommy had lived a different life and instead became a criminal in the employment of the Forelli Family of the Liberty City Mafia. A possible reference that Tommy has served in the Vietnam War is made during a meeting with "Big" Mitch Baker, although it is not fully confirmed (Tommy only mentions being "locked up during" the 1959-1975 war, which also relates to his 1971-1986 prison term).Vercetti was sent to prison in Liberty City in 1971 for multiple counts of homicide (which Sonny claimed totaled at eleven deaths), although Tommy was originally sent by friend and Forelli Family Don Sonny Forelli to kill just one man, earning him the nickname of "The Harwood Butcher", after a district in Liberty City. It appeared that Tommy killed the man he was sent to kill, but was then surrounded and had to fight his way out.Tommy Vercetti was released from prison 15 years later, in 1986. Sonny Forelli quickly realized that having "The Harwood Butcher" returning to Liberty City and working on behalf of the Forelli Family would be harmful to business, so Tommy was speedily sent by Sonny to Vice City to oversee an important drug deal between the Forelli Family and the Vance Crime Family. Two Forelli soldatos, Harry and Lee, and Ken Rosenberg, a bent lawyer with Forelli connections, are sent to assist Tommy. The deal is supposed to be the beginning of the Forelli Family's expansion "down south", but at the exchange, concealed masked gunmen kill three of the people involved in the deal (Harry, Lee and Victor Vance), stealing both the drugs and the money Tommy was charged with protecting. Vercetti narrowly escapes with Ken and informs Sonny of the botched deal, who demands that Tommy get back both the cocaine and the money. Both Sonny and Tommy wish to kill those responsible for the theft.Tommy eventually teams up with Lance Vance, the surviving member of the Vance Crime Family who is seeking revenge for his dead brother, and together they discover that Vice City drug lord Ricardo Diaz was responsible for the ambushed deal and the death of Lance's brother, Victor. Tommy manages to infiltrate Diaz's gang stealthily, gaining Diaz's trust over time by performing multiple tasks for him. However, Lance, believing he can overpower Diaz, stages a premature attempt on his life.Lance fails to kill Diaz and is captured and tortured by members of Diaz's gang before Tommy rescues him, blowing his cover as a faithful Diaz gangmember in the process. After Lance recovers in a hospital, both men decide it would be best to forcefully invade the Diaz Mansion, taking Diaz out before he had them killed. Breaking in through the grounds, the pair kill many of Diaz's men and eventually, in his own office, they ruthlessly murder Ricardo Diaz himself. Tommy then assumes control of Diaz's huge mansion and its grounds, and renames it as "Vercetti Estate". With Diaz out of the picture, Tommy becomes Vice City's new drug lord and sets up a vast and successful protection racket. Tommy then goes on to assume ownership of multiple businesses and assets within the city, and forms the very powerful Vercetti Gang in the process (of which he is the leader), becoming rich, powerful and influential within Vice City. However, Lance begins to feel that Tommy is treating him like a child, as his brother Victor used to do, and is dissatisfied with his cut of Tommy's vast profits.Sonny Forelli becomes increasingly frustrated with Tommy's refusal to comply with his wishes, constantly calling Tommy and demanding the money and drugs from the botched deal returned, along with regular cuts from Tommy's business empire. After it becomes clear that Tommy has gone solo, he sends collectors to attempt to forcibly take control of Vercetti's businesses and enforcers to intimidate members of the Vercetti Gang. Their plans are immediately thwarted, however, when Tommy kills all of the collectors and enforcers, after which Sonny comes down to Vice City personally, accompanyed by countless Forelli Family soldatos. Informed by the news, Tommy prepares three million counterfeit dollars to give to Sonny (having assumed control of a printing press, he uses it to regularly print large amounts of counterfeit cash). Sonny arrives at the Vercetti Estate and states his disappointment that Tommy couldn't see what was "good for business". Before Sonny leaves with the fake money however, Lance Vance betrays Tommy and informs Sonny that the real money is in Tommy's office safe (citing business as a reason for betraying Tommy). It is also revealed then that the incident which resulted in Tommy's imprisonment was an ambush that was orchestrated by Sonny.As a result of these multiple revelations, a huge gunfight erupts in the mansion, which leads to the the massacre of countless members of the Forelli Family, including Sonny and the traitor Lance. The final cut scene in the game depicts Tommy engaging with Ken Rosenberg, stating that "this could be the beginning of a beautiful business relationship" between him and Ken.Following the death of Don Sonny Forelli in Vice City, the Vercetti Gang no longer holds any ties to the "north" (i.e. the Liberty City Mafia), and Vercetti emerges as the richest and most powerful crime lord in the city. While the longevity of his reign is uncertain and contested, Tommy is indicated to be in control at least up until 1992 (the date and setting of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas), when Ken Rosenberg phones him from a rehab clinic on the outskirts of Las Venturas. Rosenberg tries to get in touch with his old boss in The Introduction prequel machinima film in order to find work, only to be turned away several times by one of Vercetti's associates, as Vercetti has apparently abandoned him and no longer takes his calls. Their relationship is considered dissolved.
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