Grand Theft Auto IV/Characters

Niko Bellic
Niko Bellic is a fictional character from Eastern Europe in the Grand Theft Auto video game series. He is the main protagonist and playable character of Grand Theft Auto IV.

The Niko character is modeled after the supporting character known as "Sasha" in the movie Behind Enemy Lines. The resemblance includes clothing, hair, gloves, and scar on the left eyebrow.

30 years old at the time of the game, Niko grew up in war-torn Yugoslavia. His father was a bully who never believed in him, but his mother, Milica Bellic, was very caring and felt sad that a decent person like Niko had to grow up in such a harsh place. He had a brother who was killed, but it is never explained when or how. Niko fought in the Bosnian War as an "angry" teenager, where he witnessed and committed numerous atrocities which deeply affected him, giving him a cynical view on life and serious feelings of regret and depression. A defining moment in the war for Niko was when his army unit of fifteen young men (including him) were ambushed by the enemy. Niko barely escaped with his life, but most of his friends were killed He later discovered that two others also survived. Realizing that one of them sold out the unit for money, Niko vowed to track down the culprit, not solely for revenge but because he needed closure, and that doing so would put his demons to rest.

When the war ended, work was hard to come by for Niko. His cousin, Roman, moved to America to start a new life in Liberty City. Niko, knowing only violence most of his life, turned to the criminal underworld for the next ten years, while at the same time searching for the two men who survived the ambush. At some point during this interval, he briefly spent time imprisoned. Sometime after he was released, Niko joined a human trafficking ring run by Rodislav Bulgarin. Niko eventually discovered that Florian Cravic, one of the two survivors of the ambush, was living in Liberty City.

When a boat sank during one smuggling run into Italy, Niko managed to swim to safety, but everything else was lost. Bulgarin believed Niko sunk the boat and escaped with the money onboard. Niko denied this, but Bulgarin's decision was final and he was too powerful a figure to fight back against. Niko quickly joined the merchant navy and fled Bulgarin. He spent the next seven months at sea, befriending the crew of the Platypus and contemplating Roman's request for him to come to America. Roman had been asking Niko to come to Liberty City to share a new life of money and women, which Niko wanted, but he mainly wanted to find Cravic and escape Bulgarin's wrath.

Upon arriving in Liberty City, Niko realizes that Roman's prior tales of success were lies; he lives in a tiny apartment, runs a small taxi depot and owes gambling debts to several criminals. Niko ends up working for Roman, protecting his cousin from the loan sharks that keep harassing him. Roman soon loans Niko's services to friends and enemies alike, which angers Niko although he needs the money, and sets in motion the events of the game.

Niko's view of American culture is one of confusion and mild disgust. The rampant materialism annoys him and he has trouble relating to Roman's fascination with the country. Plus, after working for so many criminals, he feels that everyone in Liberty City is a crook.

Niko is voiced by Michael Hollick. Hollick was paid about $100,000 for his voice acting and motion-capture work over the course of about 15 months from 2006 to 2008. Hollick was paid about $1,050 a day for his work on the game, about 50% more than the standard Screen Actors Guild-negotiated rate for actors, although he claimed it's still a fraction of the income he would get from a movie or TV-show performance, and that he's upset about not getting residuals from game sales, putting the blame on the union for not securing such agreements. Hollick told The New York Times that while he was a theater student at Carnegie Mellon University he developed a talent for dialects.

Roman Bellic

 * Introduced in: "The Cousins Bellic"

Roman Bellic is Niko's 31 year old cousin who has lived in Liberty City for 10 years. Roman and Niko's fathers were brothers, and like Niko's father, Roman's father was also a drunk bully. According to Niko, Roman's mother was raped and murdered during the war, although Roman thinks she died in a house fire. Roman claims to be living the American Dream to his relatives and that he has two women, four hot tubs and fifteen sports cars, but in reality he owns a gritty taxi firm in Broker, Liberty City's version of Brooklyn. He successfully manages to persuade his cousin Niko to move to the city using this deception. Roman is also heavily in debt with various figures around the city, like the Russian mafia in Liberty City, because of a gambling problem. Despite Niko's frustration with Roman's lie, Roman is optimistic and claims to be in the process of achieving the "American Dream", but it just takes time and hard work to achieve it: he arrived in Liberty City with nothing, but he worked and saved enough money to buy a taxi, and when he got enough money driving the taxi, he bought another. Soon, he bought the depot, where he lived under his desk for a year because he was saving money for an apartment. Niko admits that Roman has indeed found some success in America because of Mallorie, Roman's longtime girlfriend whom he plans to wed.

Later on in the game, his apartment and business are burned down by the Russian mafia, and as a result he sets up another taxi company in Bohan (which is the Liberty City version of the Bronx) with the insurance money. He then moves in with Mallorie, but is kidnapped again after a losing streak at a gambling den. It is revealed to be a trap by Dimitri to lure Niko there and have him killed, but that too fails and the cousins escape. Roman ultimately buys a penthouse in Algonquin, finally living the "American Dream". After the player gets his relationship high enough with Roman, the player may use his phone to have Roman send a taxi to take you anywhere for free, though the success/failure of having one available is random, and the taxi driver is usually very rude to Niko (a date usually ends early if the player hitches a ride in one).

Roman is voiced by Jason Zumwalt.

Dimitri Rascalov

 * Introduced in: "Crime and Punishment"

Dimitri Rascalov is a Russian criminal. He serves as the main antagonist of the game.

Dimitri is initially shown as Mikhail Faustin's 39 year old right-hand man; they are old friends from their army and prison years. Dimitri is the more sensible of the two, although Mikhail claims that Dimitri has an addiction to barbiturates. Dimitri becomes increasingly annoyed with Mikhail's unpredictably violent leadership, which has given their organization more enemies and caused the law to monitor them more closely. He later betrays Mikhail and orders Niko to assassinate him in order to prevent a gang war with Kenny Petrovic - before he is executed, Mikhail warns that America has made Dimitri greedy and he will betray Niko as well. Niko later meets with Dimitri at a warehouse to collect his reward for the killing, where Dimitri does indeed betray him and reveals his new partner, Rodislav Bulgarin, Niko's former boss in the human trafficking ring, who orders his men to kill Niko. Little Jacob comes to Niko's rescue and mentions that Dimitri has escaped and they can deal with him another time. Dimitri orders his men to set fire to Roman's apartment and taxi depot, effectively running Niko and Roman out of Broker. The cousins escape to Bohan to avoid any further trouble, after receiving death threats from Dimitri via the phone. Dimitri attempts to kill Niko twice more, once by kidnapping Roman to lure Niko to a warehouse filled with his men, and another time by sending Bulgarin and his men to sabotage a hostage exchange between the McReary crime family (with Niko) and the Ancelotti crime family. Dimitri calls Niko after both attempts, furious that he was not killed and threatening future attempts on his life.

Dimitri is voiced by Moti Margolin.

Packie McReary

 * Introduced in: "Luck of the Irish"

Patrick McReary is an Irish thug who is also the heir to Liberty City's declining Irish Mob. Youngest of the McReary family at age 29, he is siblings with corrupt deputy police commissioner Francis McReary, Derrick McReary, Kate McReary and Gerry McReary. He lives with his mother and sister, although he doesn't seem to like them much,and he hated his late father. Packie has spent his whole life in Liberty City and has never been outside of it, although he wishes to visit Ireland. He admits that he has a bit of a drug problem and says it's the reason he has not done anything with his life. Kate McReary, Packie's sister, shows an "interest" in Niko, but he warns him away from her at first - later in the game, he supports the coupling very much. He is also a close friend of Elizabeta Torres, leader of a small-time drug ring. When drunk, Packie loudly resents having to always take orders from his brother, Gerry. However, his rants (when sober and drunk) reveal a lot about the background of the McReary family. His special ability for being friends with Niko is providing him with specialized bombs, which can be attached to cars, and detonated with the cell phone.In the friendship you can go out to Darts,pool,bowling,etc. Packie McReary drives a Grey Oracle.

Packie is voiced by Ryan Johnston.

Little Jacob

 * Introduced in: "Jamaican Heat"

Jacob Hughes is a Jamaican arms dealer who lives in Dukes and sells Niko weapons out of the trunk of his car. He and Roman are good friends and he appears on cover-art for the game. It can be found out that he is 26 years old. After doing a few storyline missions for him, you have the option of calling him to see if he has a job for you. He assists Niko several times later on, helping find who ripped off Elizabeta's drug deal and eventually providing back-up when Niko takes on Dimitri. His special ability for being friends with Niko is selling him weapons and armor (with the exceptions of the rocket launcher and combat pistol), for lower prices than those offered by gun shops.

A running joke throughout the game is that Jacob always chooses the wrong moment to light up and smoke a joint, at one point while accompanying Niko in a helicopter chase, much to Niko's initial dismay. Similarly, when Jacob gets in a car with Niko, the car windows start leaking thick smoke. Another joke is of his heavy Jamaican accent, which Niko can not understand sometimes. Little Jacob can also be seen in Team Mafiya Work, who needs to be picked up and taken to see a man, Kenny Petrovic describes him as Small Jacob. Little Jacob drives a Black and Red Virgo.

Little Jacob is voiced by Coolie Ranx.

Mallorie Bardas-Bellic

 * Introduced in: "It's Your Call"

Mallorie Bardas-Bellic, is the 29 year old Puerto Rican girlfirend, later wife, of Roman Bellic. Mallorie is Roman's girlfriend for the first part of the storyline before becoming his fiancée. She owns a house in Bohan which Niko and Roman seek refuge in after Roman's apartment and taxi depot are set on fire and destroyed.

Mallorie's maiden name is credited as "Ramos" in the European Xbox 360 instruction manual, but is correctly credited "Bardas" in the Playstation 3 instruction manual and manuals in other regions.

Mallorie is voiced by Elena Harvey Hurst.

Vlad Glebov

 * Introduced in: "It's Your Call"

Vladimir Glebov is a Russian loan-shark of the Hove Beach area in Broker. He owns a Bar, called "Comrades" in his neighborhood which he frequents. He is an alcoholic and is shown snorting a vial of cocaine on one occasion. Vlad tries also to gain respect from more influential gangsters and is sometimes hypocritical about the citizens of Liberty. Niko despises Vlad from the start, who treats Roman poorly and refers to Niko as a "yokel". He even warns him to stay away from Mallorie. Still, Niko works for Vlad as a favor to Roman. After Niko learns that Vlad was cheating with Mallorie behind Roman's back, he is outraged, especially when Roman tries to convince him to let the matter lie. Despite Roman's attempts to talk him out of it, Niko rushes to Comrades and confronts Vlad.

Vlad is voiced by Misha Kuznetsov.

Mikhail Faustin

 * Introduced in: "Crime and Punishment"

Mikhail Faustin is a major figure in Liberty City's Bratva and the owner of the cabaret club Perestroika. He is 45-years old and has a wife, Ilyena, and a daughter, Anna. Due to alcohol and drug abuse, Mikhail goes through angry mood swings, which causes him to order hits on people for very minor things. This upsets his partner and old friend, Dimitri, who realizes that the numerous deaths are bad for business and attracts unwanted attention from the law. Things boil over when Niko unknowingly kills Lenny Petrovic, the son of another major Bratva boss, Kenny Petrovic, based on Mikhail's mere suspicion that Lenny was a snitch. Dimitri sets up Niko to assassinate Mikhail, under the promise of protection from Kenny Petrovic to prove that the death should be blamed on Mikhail and that Niko was just a hired gun.

Mikhail is voiced by Karel Roden.

Brucie Kibbutz

 * Introduced in: "Logging On"

Bruce "Brucie" Kibbutz is a fitness enthusiast and loud mouth, who enjoys fine women and cars. He enjoys the attention he gets from being rich and is a steroid user, specifically "bull shark testosterone". Brucie seems to be very cocky and annoying to Niko, but the two manage to become unlikely friends. He sports a tattoo of a Chinese character meaning "Me" or "I" and a necklace that reads "No. 1". On his back is a tattoo meaning "transvestite" (人妖) His personality is supposedly modeled after the popular internet personality, FPS Doug. Brucie owns a garage by Roman's first taxi depot in Broker called "Brucie's Executive Auto Garage", and often appears in in-game radio advertisements to market his car tuning service, even though he can also be found in the police database as wanted for possession of steroids. Niko suspects that Brucie's macho behavior is due to hidden low self-esteem (Brucie mentions that he was picked on for being overweight as a child). When Niko later learns that the people he has been killing for Brucie was mainly due to Brucie's roid rage, Niko ends their business relationship, but they continue as friends and Niko can continue stealing cars and participate in races for him. Once Niko's relationship with him is high enough, Brucie will provide free helicopter rides for him the downside being that the helicopter might land farther away from the destination due to it needing a place to land. Brucie lives in an Apartment on Mohanet Avenue.

Brucie is voiced by Timothy Adams.

Manny Escuela

 * Introduced in: "Escuela of the Streets"

Manny Escuela is a Puerto Rican former hoodlum who has supposedly changed his ways, and wants to clean up the streets. He operates from a recreational center in a South Bohan housing project where he works as a dance instructor. He is currently recording a documentary explaining his struggles and problems. Manny hires Niko to kill criminals while Manny takes the credit. He gets upset with the final cut of the documentary, claiming it does not make him look "street." As a result, Niko becomes more annoyed of Manny running his mouth.

Manny is voiced by Berto Colon.

Elizabeta Torres

 * Introduced in: "Luck of the Irish"

Elizabeta Torres is a successful small-time drug dealer in Bohan. However, she knows an upcoming drug crackdown is going to make her life very difficult and with her own narcotic use spiraling out of control she’s becoming increasingly paranoid and delusional. She introduces Niko to Packie McReary in the "Luck of the Irish" mission.

By using the police database website, the player can find out she is in police custody. According to news reports, and the in-game radio, Torres is sentenced to 300 years of imprisonment, for 30 charges of cocaine distribution. It is also hinted that she may be a lesbian or bisexual.

She initially appeared in the third trailer and in the promotional artwork for the game. Although earlier renditions of the artwork depict her as much thinner than her final appearance it is shown on advertisement posters made by Rockstar Games that she is between 5'11-6'2" tall and may weigh between 200-225 pounds. It can also be found out that her age is 31 years old. Elizabeta drives a Pink and White Voodoo.She lives in an Apartment Block on San Quentin Avenue in Fortside.

Elizabeta is voiced by Charlie Parker.

Francis McReary

 * Introduced in: "Street Sweeper"

Francis McReary is the Deputy Commissioner of the Liberty City Police Department. He very much wants to be Commissioner, but with word going around that the current Commissioner is retiring, blackmailers have emerged with evidence of all the "bad things" he has done. Francis first meets Niko briefly during a publicity shoot with Manny Escuela and later contacts Niko confidentially, wanting to pay him to silence those who wish to expose his corruption.

Francis is, above all, a hypocrite; he believes that his position automatically makes him a good person and absolves him of all his corruption. The McReary family is fully aware of this - as a youth, he became an altar server and stole the church collection plate, but believed the theft should be overlooked because he was an altar server. Francis attempted to become a priest but was kicked out of the church for cheating on his seminary exam, so he joined the LCPD instead. The only reason why Francis does not take down his own family is because his brother, Gerald, has a lot of dirt on Francis' past and will alert the authorities the moment Francis tries anything.

Francis eventually discovers that his older brother, Derrick, is back in Liberty City and believes that he will alert the press about Francis' corruption. He decides to take Derrick down by having Niko assassinate him while the brothers are talking on a bench in a park. However, Niko has a choice of whom to kill. If Niko kills Derrick, Francis provides him with a more detailed version of the suspect detail system. He will also remove a three star (or lower) wanted level if Niko calls him.

Francis drives a Grey Landstalker. Francis McReary lives in a House on Savannah Avenue at Meadows Park, although he is never actually seen there in the storyline.

Francis is voiced by Thomas Lyons.

Playboy X

 * Introduced in: "Blow Your Cover"

Trey Stewart is an African-American gangster who is 25 years old. He was introduced to Niko by Elizabeta and he owns a loft in North Holland. He was the protegé of Dwayne Forge, a drug baron and gang leader who was recently released from prison, but Playboy has since moved on without him, fully embracing the new criminal world of materialism that blurs on legitimate. He aspires to achieve things on a personal level first, with giving back to the community being a distant second. Despite this, Niko admits that Playboy pays well and always keeps his word. Playboy eventually pays Niko to work for Dwayne, mainly because he does not want to deal with Dwayne himself anymore. After Niko, on Dwayne's orders, kills the managers of a strip club that Playboy owns, Playboy realizes that his old mentor does not understand the new way business is done and that he is a hindrance to his organization - he asks Niko to kill him. Dwayne, sensing he is a target, asks Niko to kill Playboy. Niko must choose whom to kill. If the player kills Dwayne, Playboy pays Niko a large sum of money but scolds him for killing his "father figure" and refuses to speak to him again. If the player kills Playboy X, his flat in North Holland becomes a new safehouse for the player, you receive the GTA III outfit Claude wore, and Dwayne becomes a friend. Playboy's yellow Patriot may be a reference to the movie Exit Wounds which prominently featured a similar vehicle. Playboy X lives in an Apartment on Xenotime Street in Northwood, but if the player decides to kill him, Niko will then own the Apartment.

Playboy X is voiced by Postell Pringle.

Dwayne Forge

 * Introduced in: "Deconstruction for Beginners"

Dwayne Forge is the former mentor of Playboy X. He is 35 years old and an old school African-American gangster who used to be a very influential and feared criminal. Ironically, Dwayne always wanted to be a police officer as a youth, but the LCPD did not approve of black police officers in the old days. He also had trouble reading and writing due to a learning disability. Dwayne's father was an abusive, small-time criminal that was killed by drug dealers that he tried to rip-off, but Dwayne felt nothing when he learned of his death. Dwayne soon learned that a lot of money was to be had in the drug trade and that he was very good at intimidating people. He also found that, despite his difficulties reading, he was very good at the basic mathematics required for his trade. He soon became the leader of his own drug ring called the North Holland Hustlers. At the height of his power, Dwayne claims he rented out entire apartments just to have someplace to store all the money that his gang was accumulating.

In 1999, Dwayne was arrested on crack distribution charges and sentenced to 9 years in prison. He was recently released, but is disturbed by the world of bling and excess he's found in an underworld that was all about straight business when he left it over a decade ago. He is depressed that his menacing and powerful reputation has been forgotten, even finding out that his girlfriend Cherise left him for another man after Dwayne pulled strings from behind bars to pay her rent over the years. Feeling betrayed, Dwayne is also angry that Playboy X ignores him and excludes him from the gang's business, which is resorting to more high-profile crimes. Niko is paid by Playboy to work for Dwayne, and he ends up sympathizing with Dwayne's plight and helps him rebuild his reputation and influence. After Dwayne pays Niko to shut down a club that he used to own that was taken over by associates of Playboy X, Dwayne and Playboy X call Niko to kill one another, giving him a choice of who to kill. If the player kills Playboy X, Dwayne gives Niko the penthouse of his old protegé, he becomes Niko's friend, and you receive Claude's outfit from GTA III. If the player kills Dwayne, Playboy X pays Niko but scolds him for killing his "father figure" and refuses to speak with him again. When hanging out with Dwayne, he complains about his hard knock life and comes off as very depressed - when drunk, he admits that he bottles up his emotions to maintain his tough persona. Niko eventually sternly tells Dwayne to stop lamenting about his past. Dwayne's special ability for being Niko's friend is sending two gangsters to Niko's location, who provide the player with backup. Dwayne lives in a Apartment Block at Vespucci Circus in North Holland.

Dwayne is voiced by Devin Richards.

United Liberty Paper Merchants

 * Introduced in: "Wrong is Right"

United Liberty Paper, also known as U.L. Paper or simply U.L.P.C., is a front for a shadowy government agency that denies any affiliation to existing branches such as the Federal Investigation Bureau or National Office of Security Enforcement. Niko's contact is a presumed government agent who is revealed as Michelle's superior. Niko is blackmailed into performing reconnaissance and assassination missions for him or risk exposure to local law enforcements. The contact never reveals his true name and as such is often referred to synonymously with the organization he represents. U.L. Paper also offers to help Niko Darko Brevic, eventually going to far as to have him deported from Bucharest and brought into the country by government agents after Niko helps Jon Gravelli, who refers to U.L. Paper as 'our mutual friend'. He makes numerous references to being married, in the army, and once addresses Niko in Serbian, saying that America is 'just like the Old Country'. However, after giving any hint into his personal life he immediately contradicts himself, purposefully making any conjecture into his background unreliable at best.

The contact's appearance (complete with horn-rimmed glasses) as well as the fact that the agency's front is a paper company may be references to Noah Bennet and Primatech Paper respectively, from the TV series Heroes.

Ray Boccino

 * Introduced in "Harboring a Grudge"

Raymond Boccino once threw a man into a dump truck and then crushing him to death for holding out on a tribute. He hires Niko for several jobs, mainly revolving around a huge diamond deal with Isaac Roth that ultimately fails. After completing a few missions for Ray, he gives Niko a safehouse in Alderney. In return for Niko's help, he helps locate Florian Cravic, the man Niko had tracked to Liberty City and suspects of betraying his old army unit. The diamond deal is not Ray's first failed large-scale venture, which upsets Don Jimmy Pegorino greatly - he believes that Ray is just a dumb thug that managed to survive long enough to climb the hierarchy and is not very good at organized crime. Ray also becomes slightly jealous of Niko as he gains more favor with the Don.

Ray is voiced by Joe Barbara.

Phil Bell

 * Introduced in: "No Way on the Subway"

Philip Bell is the front operator for the Pegorino crime family in Alderney. Phil maintains that he is a legitimate businessman, managing construction yards and the Pegorino-owned Honker's Gentleman's Club based in Tudor. The authorities have his places of business bugged, so he speaks in generalities that will not implicate him in anything and he is always extra cautious with his planning. His caution often puts him at odds with capo Ray Boccino, who is far more daring with his crimes. Although Don Jimmy Pegorino says Phil is his best associate, he is also 90% Irish and that fact is frowned upon by the Five Families. Ironically, Phil may be having an affair with Pegorino's wife Angela, but Pegorino does not believe the rumors. In fact, Pegorino chooses to whack Ray instead of Phil, who is merely an associate in the organization, when he believes one of the two is a snitch. Phil is divorced and is very bitter at his ex-wife, who won full custody of his children.

Phil also serves as something of a conscience / premonition during the game, engaging in discussions with Niko about decisions and following orders, a few missions before Niko has to decide first whether to kill Darko Brevic, and later whether to follow Pegorino's orders or take revenge.

Phil Bell is voiced by Frank Bonsangue.

Jimmy Pegorino

 * Introduced in: "Pegorino's Pride"

Don James (Jimmy) "The Peg" Pegorino is a mobster heavily involved in drugs distribution, head of the Alderney based Pegorino Crime Family. The Pegorinos also have an hangout in Little Italy, the Drusilla's Ristorante. Jimmy Pegorino's main goal is to see his crime family being named part of the Liberty City Cosa Nostra "Commission". The main five families of Liberty City (The Ancelotti, Pavano, Messina, Gambetti and Lupisella Crime Syndicates) think that the Pegorinos are nothing more than a South Alderney gang. Pegorino had a son who killed himself, so he considers his bodyguard Anthony Corrado the closest thing he has to a son.

Pegorino appears in the final mission seeking Niko's help in selling off heroin that his organization had acquired. However, the police are closing in on the family's activities, so he needs to sell it off.

Jimmy drives a Black Shafter. He lives in a Mansion on a Hill on Beaverhead Avenue in North Alderney, which is taken over by Kenny Petrovic after his death.

Jimmy is voiced by Tony Patellis.

Kate McReary
Introduced in: "Harboring a Grudge"

Kate McReary is the only daughter in the McReary family. Packie says she is the only honest and good McReary sibling, and she's one of the few characters in the game who doesn't have a criminal record. Several of Packie's stories about the McReary family have to do with Kate witnessing several violent acts at a very young age, such as watching Gerry and Francis angrily beat each other up or catching Gerry return home with blood all over his clothes. She can be taken out on dates as with the other women in the game, but unlike the other girlfriends, Niko is unable to have a romantic relationship with her, thus, she will not let you in the house after a successful date, as Kate only considers Niko to be a friend.

Gerry McReary

 * Introduced in: "Three Leaf Clover"

Gerald McReary is the boss of the Liberty City Irish Mob. He gives orders through his younger brother, Packie. Gerry is upset with the McReary Family's weakened state, which has them working as hired guns for the Pegorino family and other organizations, because they used to be the most powerful gang in the city. He does not trust Niko at first because he is not Irish, but changes his mind after Niko helps the McReary Family with a daring bank heist. Gerry then tasks Niko with attacking other criminal organizations to prove that the McReary Family still has power, but which also benefit his employer, Don Jimmy Pegorino. Gerry starts to grow a trust with Niko asking him to help watch over the family while he's in prison. Throughout the course of the game, he is released from prison and subsequently rearrested on charges such as armed robbery and racketeering. Despite being incarcerated, Gerry still gives thinly veiled orders to Niko revolving around the kidnapping of Gracie Ancelotti to barter for diamonds that the Ancelotti family stole from Ray Boccino. Although Packie initially believes that the charges against Gerry will be dropped, Gerry hints to Niko that he will be in prison for a very long time.

Derrick McReary

 * Introduced in: "Three Leaf Clover"

Derrick McReary is yet another member of McReary Family and 51 years old, which makes him the oldest. He has a drug and alcohol problem, so Packie asks Niko to keep an eye out for his brother's safety. Derrick has recently returned from Ireland where he assisted the Provisional Irish Republican Army in fighting the British, but his other brother, Francis, says that Derrick actually fled there to lay low because he ripped off powerful mobsters in Liberty City. Two of Derrick's old friends, Bucky Sligo and Aiden O'Malley, believed that Derrick snitched on them to the authorities and constantly threatened him and his family as result, despite Derrick's claims of innocence. The accusations from his former friends caused him tremendous grief and fueled his drug addictions. If Niko hangs out with Packie enough, he will eventually reveal that Derrick actually did snitch on Bucky and Aiden.

Derrick seems to be the most compassionate of all the McReary children, as is shown with the way he tries to calm down the bank staff and customers during the heist. When Francis discovers that Derrick is back in town, he worries that he will reveal Francis' corruption to the press for money. He talks with Derrick in a park as part of an attempt to use Niko to kill him, thinking that he must go outside the law to take down his brother. Niko has a choice of who to kill. The player does not receive anything from Derrick for killing Francis. However, the other McRearys seem to take his death harder than Francis' death.

Bernie Crane / Florian Cravic

 * Introduced in: "Weekend at Florian's"

Bernie Crane, real name Florian Cravic, is the person that Niko tracked down to America. He served with Niko in the Bosnian War and is one of the two men that Niko suspects betrayed his old army unit. In return for Niko's help, Pegorino Crime Family Capo Ray Boccino locates a man named Talbot Daniels that knows Cravic, who leads Niko to Cravic's apartment. After a tense encounter, during which a terrified Florian accuses Niko of the very same betrayal Niko is about to take revenge for, Niko soon realizes that Cravic is not the culprit. While Roman references that Florian used to work in an abbatoir, after coming to America Cravic changed his name to Bernie and reworked his life, becoming a very flamboyantly effeminate gay man that works as a life coach and an aerobics instructor. At first, Niko is annoyed when Bernie begs him for help, admonishing him to 'not be a fag'. However, Niko's friendship with him grows based on their shared experience before coming to America. Bernie is amazed that Niko is still haunted by the betrayal that occurred so many years ago, which Roman says is proof that Niko needs to let go of the past and move on. Bernie eventually gives Bryce's sports car to Niko as a thank-you gift for protecting his relationship with Bryce from blackmailers, claiming he 'only power-walks or takes cabs'. Bernie lives in an Apartment on Ivy Drive South.

Jon Gravelli

 * Introduced in "Entourage"

Jonathan Gravelli is the old school and well-connected Don of the Gambetti Crime Family. He has many politicians in his pocket and does not approve of foreign crime taking hold of Liberty City. The aging Gravelli is currently a patient in Schottler Medical Center for an unknown illness, which has taken a large toll on his health. Regardless, Niko and Gravelli seem to share a nihilistic, grim sense of humour. Gravelli is introduced to Niko via cellphone through the boss at U.L. Paper, who is only referred to as a "mutual friend," and it seems both are allies due to their mutual goal of ridding the country of illegal activities committed by foreign crime syndicates. It is through Gravelli and U.L. Paper's assistance that Niko is able to have Darko Brevic, the man who betrayed his army unit, delivered to him.

Michelle

 * Introduced in: "Three's a Crowd"

Michelle is Niko's first girlfriend. She has a bizarre personality and is very interested in Niko's past and current work.