Thomas Vercetti (original) (raw)

“

Yeah, my old man used to work on these. I used to spend the evenings with him cleaning the rollers. I was gonna follow him in his trade but... I lived a different life.

Thomas "Tommy" Vercetti is the protagonist of Grand Theft Auto: Vice City.

He is also mentioned in The Introduction, a prequel short film to Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, and in the game itself during the mission The Meat Business by former friend and lawyer Ken Rosenberg.

Tommy was voiced by late movie actor Ray Liotta, making him the first protagonist in the series with a voice actor.

History[]

Background[]

Tommy is a former member of the Forelli Crime Family in Liberty City, who, after being released from prison following a fifteen year sentence, is sent to Vice City to oversee a major drug deal with the Vance Brothers. When that deal is ambushed, resulting in both the drugs and the money being lost, Tommy begins searching for the person behind the attack, working for various prominent figures of Vice City's criminal underworld in return for answers. Over time, Tommy begins building his own criminal empire and eventually finds the man responsible for the ambush, killing him and taking over his business. Now the head of his own gang, the Vercetti Gang, Tommy subsequently attempts to expand it, ultimately eliminating all competition and becoming the undisputed kingpin of Vice City.

Early Life[]

Thomas Vercetti was born in Liberty City in 1951. His father worked in a printing shop and as a child, Tommy used to clean the rollers with him. Tommy had planned to follow in his father's footsteps, but, in his own words, "lived a different life". Dialogue spoken by Tommy while fighting indicates that he had a bad relationship with his mother, while his carjacking dialogue indicates that he's been living a life of crime for twenty years. In his childhood, Tommy befriended his future employer Sonny Forelli. [3]

Early 1970s[]

Sometime prior to 1971, Tommy joined the Forelli Crime Family, one of the main three Mafia families in Liberty City and the most powerful one at that time. He continued to work with the Forelli Family, making his way up the ranks and presumably becoming a made man by the time he was 20 years old. In 1971, Sonny Forelli, the head of the family, sent Tommy to kill a man in Harwood. During the hit, Tommy was ambushed by a group of gang members. It is speculated that Sonny himself orchestrated the ambush, though this was never confirmed. Tommy survived after killing all the men that were sent to assassinate him, but was arrested and convicted of eleven counts of murder. Tommy was initially sentenced to death for the murders, but his sentence was commuted. Tommy remained in prison for fifteen years. He was nicknamed "the Harwood Butcher" by the press.

Events of _Grand Theft Auto Vice City_[]

In 1986, Tommy is released from prison after Sonny "pulls some strings". Fearing that Tommy is "too well known" in Liberty City, and also wanting to expand into the drugs trade in the south, Sonny sends Tommy to Vice City. Tommy flies to Vice City along with Harry and Lee, meeting Ken Rosenberg at the airport, before immediately driving to a drug deal at the docks. The drug deal turns into an ambush, and Harry, Lee, and one of the drug dealers are killed by a group of mercenaries. Only Tommy, Ken, and the other dealer escape the attack.

Tommy informs Sonny of the ambush and is reminded that Sonny is "not a man to be screwed with"; Sonny makes it clear he wants his money and his drugs back. Tommy initially works for Ken, starting riots and intimidating jurors. While working for Ken, Tommy also meets Lance Vance, the other dealer, who seeks revenge for his brother who was killed during the initial drug deal. Tommy also works for Juan Cortez, an intermediary for the drug deal, who begins to look into the ambush for Tommy. Meanwhile, Cortez has Tommy steal missile technology chips and kill Gonzalez, who had talked about the deal.

Cortez, believing that Ricardo Diaz was responsible for the ambush, asks Tommy to act as protection for Diaz in a deal with the Cubans. The Haitians, enemies of the Cubans, ambush the deal but are killed by Tommy and Lance. Diaz, seeing potential in Tommy and Lance, hires them to kill gang members who were stealing his money and steal the fastest boat in the city in order to purchase drugs from a dealer on a boat. Lance eventually attempts to kill Diaz for the death of his brother, but is captured by Diaz's men, though he is later freed by Tommy. The two subsequently go on to take revenge, killing Diaz in his own mansion.

The death of Ricardo Diaz brings change to Vice City, allowing Tommy and Lance to step in and continue the crime ring established by Diaz. Tommy, however, begins to look beyond the protection rackets established by Diaz and purchases a number of businesses around the city, most prominently the Malibu Club, the Cherry Popper Ice Cream Factory (a front for a drug running business), Sunshine Autos, InterGlobal Films and the Print Works. After purchasing each business, Tommy helps establish their influence in the city. During this time, Tommy also begins to work for a number of smaller time criminals in the city, including the Cuban leader Umberto Robina and the Haitian leader Auntie Poulet (due to her drugging him), helping both sides attack the other. He also works for Avery Carrington's real estate business, Phil Cassidy's gun running business, Mr. Black's hitman business, Mitch Baker's biker gang, and Kent Paul's management of Love Fist. Tommy also goes on to help Juan Cortez escape the city when the GIGN assault his yacht for the missile technology.

Sonny, growing restless and impatient, eventually sends some of his men to collect some of his money from Tommy's businesses. Tommy kills the collectors, although not in time to save Earnest Kelly, the foreman of the Print Works, from being injured. Tommy decides to give Sonny fake money printed at the Print Works. Tommy meets Sonny in person at his estate to give him the counterfeit cash, but Sonny informs him that Lance has sided with him, betraying Tommy. Tommy accuses Sonny of having set up the ambush in Harwood; in response, Sonny says that he owns Tommy and that the fifteen years of incarceration were Sonny's to spend. A gun battle ensues, with Tommy killing both Lance and Sonny. Following the deaths of Lance and Sonny, Tommy and Ken, with no one left to oppose them, become the most powerful men in Vice City.

After _Grand Theft Auto: Vice City_[]

Tommy Vercetti continued to run the criminal underworld of Vice City after 1986; during that time, Tommy's relationship with Ken became increasingly strained due to Ken's cocaine addiction. Tommy eventually got Ken into rehab at the Fort Carson Medical Center in Fort Carson, San Andreas. Although Ken completed rehab and got clean of his addiction by 1992, Tommy refused to speak to him following this and essentially cut all ties.

Tommy is mentioned by Ken in the mission The Meat Business in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, leading Carl Johnson to question, "Who the fuck is Tommy?" Rosenberg also calls Vercetti at the introduction video of the aforementioned game, Tommy's secretary answers and tells Ken that Tommy is not taking calls, this is the moment where Rosenberg discovers that Vercetti was ignoring him.

Tommy is also mentioned on Kent Paul's website in 2002 under the list of social problems of the 1980s, saying, "(see, Tom, I didn't mention your name, nowhere. Maybe you won't get us killed now, okay?)" This could mean that Tommy is still alive and in power during the early 2000s.

Further Notes[]

"remember Tommy u r still my hero" – A graffiti Easter egg in Grand Theft Auto IV referencing the HD Universe reboot of the series.

Tommy, along with other 3D Universe protagonists, is referenced in a graffiti Easter egg in Grand Theft Auto IV. As confirmed by Rockstar Games, this Easter egg is simply to commemorate GTA IV being the beginning of a new canon (officially named as the HD Universe).

Later, in a Rockstar Newswire Q&A post, Rockstar Games have officially stated this Easter egg is "a little joke to our fans"[4] – protagonists and major story characters from the previous universe (including Tommy) have never existed in the HD Universe continuity (only background elements including brands and radio station characters/celebrities exist across universes), meaning that none of the events from Grand Theft Auto: Vice City are canon to Grand Theft Auto VI.

However, references alluding to the characters from the previous canon appear as Easter eggs and, by Rockstar's own words, "they have been rendered as characters from a bygone era"[5] (for example Grove Street Families -> The Families' Grove Street set).

As mentioned in Grand Theft Auto Online, HD Universe variants of the businesses from Tommy's empire appear as seemingly legit businesses (i.e. Malibu Club and Pole Position Adult Lounge).

Character[]

Personality[]

Tommy Vercetti is depicted as both intelligent and temperamental. He is easily angered and quick to resort to violence. He does not hesitate to kill, though many of his victims are trying to kill Tommy, or have done something that guaranteed their deaths. However, Tommy often shows care and sensitivity towards characters like Mercedes Cortez and especially Earnest Kelly, viewing Kelly as a father figure due to his own father working in a printworks, and showing anger and concern when Kelly is injured by Sonny's hitmen. He also seems to have sympathy for children, as he considers Maude Hanson a "psycho" for her antipathy towards children. He also appears to have a distaste of the government and/or the army/police, as he characterizes the events of the Vietnam war "ugly business" when Mitch Baker tells him about how he was "betrayed by his own country", and consistently makes sarcastic comments about the country's military and police force when cops are after him during free roam. Tommy believes in the mafia code and in a sense of honor amongst thieves, but if people cross him, he will go to any lengths to get even with them.[3]

Tommy prefers to perform his own work rather than delegate tasks to others. Even after he has his own gang and other subordinates working for him, he usually puts his plans in motion personally. He also personally gets involved if things aren't going as well as he'd like - for example, in the opening cutscene of Bar Brawl, he is irritated by Lance's lazy attitude towards the bar refusing to pay protection money and immediately goes out to settle things himself.

Despite his hot temper, Tommy tends to be loyal and trusting, especially toward those who he feels helped him to achieve his goals. He went back to work for Sonny Forelli after being released from prison even though he strongly suspected that Sonny set him up. Another example is Ken Rosenberg, who Tommy chose to let live following his drug problems because of his help with setting up Vercetti's empire. However, the best example is Lance Vance, as although Lance was incompetent and his attitude was becoming negative, Tommy still viewed and attempted to treat Lance as an equal partner, even letting him in on the counterfeiting setup at the Vice City Print Works. When busting Lance's chops once over the phone, Tommy states he's doing so because Lance screwed up: if Tommy ever messed up, he considered it within Lance's full rights to take him to task on it. Tommy was shocked at Lance's betrayal, automatically assuming that Lance was selling out their entire organization rather than himself personally. He notes over the phone that he really didn't think Lance was like that, leading Earnest Kelly to quip: "Tommy, for a raging lunatic, you're pretty naïve".

However, a somewhat definite aspect of Tommy’s character is his ability to be selfish and primarily worry about his own personal goals before the needs of others. For example, Tommy would prefer to partake in jobs that allow him to pursue his own interests. An instance of such behaviour is demonstrated in a cutscene while talking to Cortez; despite Cortez having employed Tommy and paid him generously thus far and got him into contact with Ricardo Diaz, Vice City’s most powerful drug dealer, Tommy was impatient and said that he had no time to run more errands, showing a desire for power and greed. Only when Cortez tells Vercetti that he has a chance to gain from the job does Tommy decide to do it. Additionally, another example is how Tommy initially treated Lance with distrust and shrugged off Lance’s grievances about his brother’s death and still insisted on learning more about Diaz’s empire, rather than trying to sympathise with his friend. Despite Ken having assisted in building the Vercetti Gang, Tommy chose to abandon Rosenberg after having been disbarred from the law and due to his cocaine addiction, despite Ken having completed his rehab treatment as mentioned above. Tommy chose to cut all ties rather than at least find the man who stood by him when his closest friends have betrayed him.

Appearance[]

Tommy, an Italian-American, is portrayed with a tall, swarthy, handsome appearance, combed dark brown, almost black hair, brown eyes, and a five o'clock shadow. He first appears wearing a light blue-green Hawaiian shirt with dark blue palm trees printed on it, a pearl necklace (silver chain necklace in The Definitive Edition), a gold watch around his left wrist, stonewashed blue jeans and white sneakers. He has other outfits also, and his appearance can be completely changed through the Player Skin Setup, a new feature of Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, allowing players to create custom textures for the default player model and apply them in the game.

Influence[]

Tommy Vercetti shows many characteristics in common with Tony Montana, a drug lord from the film Scarface. The two both end up in exile, both arrive in the city wearing Hawaiian shirts, both rise to power in Miami using great amounts of violence, both build an empire from a large mansion, both have short tempers and are prone to violence, both work as contract killers, and both killed their collaborators and took their ex-bosses' empires. The interior of the Vercetti Estate is even modeled after Montana's mansion, save for the lack of an indoor pool. There are, however, key differences, most notably that Tommy did not become addicted to his own narcotics and that Tommy survived the shootout in his mansion, as opposed to Montana who was killed, and Tony Montana is of Cuban descent, whereas Tommy Vercetti is of Italian descent. (However, Al Pacino, who played the role of Montana in Scarface, is of Italian descent)

Tommy Vercetti also bears some resemblance to Mr. Blonde (real name Vic Vega) from the 1992 film Reservoir Dogs, played by Michael Madsen, who also voiced Toni Cipriani, the protagonist of Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories, in Grand Theft Auto III. The film sees Mr. Blonde released from prison after loyally doing time for his crime family, as Tommy did after the "Harwood Incident". Tommy later performs contract killings for a 'Mr. Black', whilst he is referred to as 'Mr. Teal' (as Mr. Black believed Tommy to be the deceased Leo Teal). He also has some little resemblance to his own voice actor, Ray Liotta.

Tommy Vercetti's story is similar to famous real-life mobster Joseph Iannuzzi. In the 1980s, Iannuzzi was sent to Florida to be a representative for his mob boss Tommy Argo. Like the relationship between Tommy and Sonny in game, the relationship between Joseph Iannuzzi and Tommy Argo became strained over a large sum of money. Iannuzzi was forced to flee Florida with a large sum of Argo's money. As a result, Argo ambushed Joseph in Florida and nearly killed him.

Tommy also shares some characteristics with Vito Corleone from The Godfather. Vito arrives in America after being forced to leave Sicily, he becomes involved with feared mob boss Don Fanucci, and eventually kills him. Vito takes over, and begins to expand his criminal organization into a large empire. Both of them also hire lawyers as relatively high-ranking members of their organization. Both of them are extremely loyal to their friends and associates, but seek vengeance if betrayed. Just like Tommy, Vito took pains to ensure that those loyal to him felt valued and important because of their loyalty, not merely grunts to be used.

VCBI Crime Tree Record[]

TOMMY VERCETTI

Who is this guy?
I've got a call into the Parole Board in Liberty. Seems he was in prison up there.

TOMMY VERCETTI

Who is this guy?
I've got a call into the Parole Board in Liberty. Seems he was in prison up there.

Murders Committed by Tommy Vercetti[]

Optional Murders[]

Crimes Committed by Tommy Vercetti[]

• The murder of 11 mob-hired hitmen who tried to kill him.
• The attempted purchase of illegal drugs from the Vance Brothers.
• The murder of Leo Teal and theft of his phone.
• The vandalism of two jurors' cars.
• The instigation of a riot and destruction of three delivery trucks.
• The murder of a property developer.
• The bombing of a construction site and murder of several construction workers.
• The murder of Gonzales.
• The murder of Pierre La Ponce and theft of French military guidance chips.
• The shootout against Haitian gang members during a drug deal.
• The shootout against the Streetwannabe's on Prawn Island.
• The shootout against several guards at the Viceport Boatyard and the theft of a speedboat.
• The retrieval of a package of illegal drugs and the shootout against rival drug dealers.
• The murder of a Haitian warlord.
• The theft of an army tank.
• The shootout against Ricardo Diaz's men at the Vice City Junkyard.
• The murder of Ricardo Diaz and the shootout against Diaz's gang on Starfish Island.
• The shootout against French secret servicemen aboard Juan Cortez's yacht.
• The vandalism and extortion of several shops at the North Point Mall.
• The extortion of the Front Page Cafe and the shootout against DBP Security.
• The bombing of a shop and the shootout against the VCPD.
• The shootout against Haitian gang members and the theft of a van.
• The shootout against the Haitians and Streetwannabe's and theft of their drugs and money.
• The retrieval of several packages of illegal drugs and the shootout against the VCPD in Little Haiti.
• The bombing of several Cuban boats.
• The murder of several Cuban gang members using a sniper rifle.
• The bombing of a drug factory and the shootout against Haitian gang members in Little Haiti.
• The murder of a drug dealer who robbed him.
• The attempted murder of Love Fist's obsessed stalker.
• Participating in an illegal bike race.
• Wreaking havoc in Downtown Vice City.
• The shootout against the Streetwannabe's in Downtown Vice City.
• The murder of Carl Pearson.
• The murder of Mrs. Dawson.
• The murders of Mike Griffin, Dick Tanner, Franco Carter, Marcus Hammond, Nick Kong and Charlie Dilson.
• The murder of a businessman and theft of his briefcase.
• The shootout against the Streetwannabe's and the FBI in Little Havana and the theft of their merchandise.
• The running of a smuggling ring.
• The running of a drug-dealing ring.
• The theft of 24 vehicles for the Sunshine Autos Import Garage.
• The murder of Candy Suxxx' agent and his guards.
• Dropping advertising fliers without authorization.
• The blackmailing of Alex Shrub and the shootout against the FBI.
• Arranging a major publicity stunt without authorization.
• The vandalism of a cab and assault of its driver.
• The destruction of three cabs.
• The murder of a cab driver.
• The shootout against several guards at the Vice City docks.
• The shootout against the Counterfeit Syndicate and theft of their counterfeit plates.
• The running of a counterfeit currency manufacturing syndicate.
• The prison break of Cam Jones and shootout against the VCPD.
• Partaking in an illegal street race.
• The robbery of the El Banco Corrupto Grande bank and shootout against the VCPD.
• The shootout against several gun-runners and theft of their weapons.
• The shootout against members of the Forelli Crime Family attacking his businesses.
• The shootout against the Forelli Crime Family in his estate and the murders of Lance Vance and Sonny Forelli.

Other crimes (player-determinant)[]

• Grand Theft Auto
• Carjacking
• Armed Store Robbery
• Manslaughter
• Mass Homicide
• Violating Gun Control laws
• Looting
• Dangerous Driving
• Street Racing
• Assault

Dialogue[]

This is Tommy's dialogue during free roam.

[1]

Mission Appearances[]

_Grand Theft Auto: Vice City_[]

• As the protagonist, he appears in all missions.

Gallery[]

Tommy's arrival in Vice City, along with Harry and Lee.

"Save it for a rainy day"

Tommy and Ken Rosenberg after getting rid of the Forelli Family problem.

Tommy Vercetti cutscene model in The Definitive Edition.

Tommy Vercetti.

Tommy Vercetti wielding a shotgun.

Tommy's men.

Tommy meeting with Sonny.

Tommy and Lance finishing Diaz.

The iconic scene of Tommy Vercetti speaking to Sonny Forelli after the deal.

Tommy Vercetti from behind.

Tommy donning the Soiree suit.

Tommy Vercetti action figures in Zero RC.

Artworks[]

Official artwork of Tommy Vercetti.

Concept artwork of Tommy Vercetti.

Early concept artwork for Tommy Vercetti, showing a similar hairstyle to that used in-game.

Screenshots[]

Trivia[]

Tommy's shirt

• Tommy has a few unique traits when compared to other GTA protagonists; he was the first one to speak (although that honor technically goes to Toni Cipriani in GTA III, who was not actually recognized as a protagonist until GTA Liberty City Stories, which was released after GTA Vice City). He was also the first 3D Universe protagonist to be given a name - Claude of GTA III wasn't named until GTA San Andreas, and Toni Cipriani didn't officially become a protagonist until GTA LCS. He was also the only verbal GTA protagonist to never say the word "fuck"; instead, he frequently says the word "prick" throughout the game.
• Tommy's shirt can be seen in the wardrobe at The Compound safehouse in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories, but Vic cannot wear it.
• The video game Driv3r featured Hawaiian shirt-wearing characters known as "Timmy Vermicelli" hidden throughout each of its 3 main maps, who could be killed to unlock bonuses, a parody of both Tommy and the hidden package system of GTA games. Additionally, the Timmy Vermicelli characters wore inflatable armbands, making fun of the fact Tommy Vercetti is unable to swim and will die upon entering the water.
• In The Introduction, Ken Rosenberg calls Tommy Vercetti, but Tommy doesn't speak because Ray Liotta had a dispute with Rockstar Games about how much "effort" he put into GTA Vice City, so Tommy's voice wasn't recorded.
• The announcer in the Hyman Memorial Stadium seems to recognize Tommy by last name, as he refers to him in quite a few dialogues during stadium events.
  • According to a random dialogue announced when Tommy picks up checkpoints in Bloodring, he was once 90 pounds.
• In the beginning cutscene of Cannon Fodder, it is shown that Tommy is bilingual or at least possesses basic Spanish knowledge when he orders coffee from Alberto Robina in Spanish.

References[]

1. ↑ Tommy is said to be 35 years old in the BradyGames guide officially endorsed by Rockstar Games.
   
2. ↑ "The Body Behind Vice City's Tommy Vercetti" by Andy Grieser (June 9, 2003) - ESCMag
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 https://www.ign.com/articles/2002/09/17/introducing-tommy-vercetti
4. ↑ "Asked & Answered – Re: Vice City, Red Dead Redemption and Chinatown Wars" - Rockstar Newswire, September 18, 2009
5. ↑ Interview with Dan Houser in The Guardian

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