15 Years before GTA Vice City starts (1971)
In 1971, in Liberty City, Sonny tasks Tommy Vercetti to kill a man in Harwood. However, this man kad knowledge about the attack, plotted against him. Tommy, who falls into a trap, kills 11 men while he was tasked to kill only one. He is sentenced to 15 years. After this, he is dubbed as the Butcher of Harwood. As the result, Tommy starts being suspicious whether Sonny betrayed him and trapped him.
Sonny had members of the rival families killed when Tommy is in prison and made his family much stronger. In time, Sonny’s intention to go into drug business increased as well.
As the GTA Vice City starts
Sonny Forelli deals with the drug trade in Vice City at a time when the business is booming. He wants to get the biggest share from the drug business in Vice City by acting swifter than the other families. In order to reach this goal, he wants to cooperate with Tommy, who has just been released from the prison. However, the massacre that Tommy made has not been forgotten yet in Liberty City. So Sonny sends him to Vice City.
Tommy starts working for Sonny. During a drug exchange, an unknown group raids the place and Tommy is amongst the three survivors. But he lost millions of dollars and drugs, belonging to Sonny.
Sonny gives Tommy a chance to bring the money and the merchandise back to him. Tommy, with the help of the drug addicted attorney Ken Rosenberg and Lance Vance, a drug dealer, who just lost his brother due to the drugs, strengthens his organization. Later on, Tommy becomes an influential figure in Vice City. Sonny on the other hand, has not been obtained his money yet despite the time elapsed. He constantly phones Tommy to pressure him. When Tommy gradually straightens his business up, Tommy wants to get a share from Tommy’s business. He sends his men to Vice City for collection purposes but Tommy kills them all. After this Sonny approaches Tommy’s partner, Lance and the two make a deal.
Sonny goes to Vice City to pay a visit to Tommy. Tommy plans to pay his debt to Sonny by using counterfeit money. Tommy welcomes Sonny and his men at the door of his mansion. After a brief conversation, Tommy attempts to give Sonny fake money. Lance, who knows this was going to happen, warns Sonny and then Tommy knows for certain that Sonny was the one who played him. Sonny, in exchange of Tonny’s attempt to double cross him, attacks Tommy’s mansion with his men. Tommy kills both Sonny and Lance. The Forelli Family, who loses a lot of members in the incident spirals into a decline and this marks a positive development for other Mafia Families such as Sindacco.
Vercetti becomes the most powerful and the richest crime boss in Vice City. Lance Vance and Sonny Forelli are killed. Forelli Family entered into an era of collapse. What happened to Tommy afterwards and how long his rule lasted are a matter of much discourse.