Nikolai ''Niko'' Lazarevic Bellic (5 August 1978-) is a Serbian-American criminal of Bosnian decent, who worked as a hitman-for-hire for criminal organizations such as the American Mafia, the Russian Mafia, the Jamaican Hillside Posse, and the Irish Mob, among others. Bellic, who had been involved with human trafficking back in the Balkans, became one of the most powerful criminals in New York City and northern New Jersey in 2008, as he took down crime bosses such as Mikhail Faustin, Dimitri Rascalov, James Pegorino, and Playboy X when they betrayed him or/and his allies.
Bellic came to New York after Ray Bulgarin blamed him for the loss of a diamond shipment, as well as to track down two former brothers-in-arms, Florian Cravic and Darko Brevic, one of whom had betrayed their squad to the ARBiH during the Bosnian War. Bellic moved into his cousin Roman Bellic's Brighton Beach apartment, getting caught up in his cousin's problems and drawing him into New York's dangerous criminal underworld. Bellic would kill hundreds of people and take part in countless crimes in New York and New Jersey, and he would end up as a very wealthy person, assisting his cousin with opening his own taxi company. After killing all of his enemies, he became a peaceful man, although he occasionally played the role of a vigilante on the streets by killing dangerous criminals.
Biography[]
Yugoslav Wars[]
Nikolai Lazarevic Bellic was born in the Socialist Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Yugoslavia in August 5, 1978 to a family of Serbian Orthodox Christians of Bosnian descent.
His father was an abusive alcoholic, and he often spent time with his mother, Milica, and his cousin, Roman Bellic; his house did not have electricity until he was twelve. Bellic was forced to fight in the Yugoslav People's Army as a child soldier during the Bosnian War, and his brother was killed by Bosnian and Herzegovinian troops during the war.
Bellic piloted a helicopter and a tank during the war, and he was a member of a fifteen-man squad that was ambushed by Bosnian troops in 1995, leaving only three survivors: himself, Florian Cravic, and Darko Brevic. Bellic knew that one of them had betrayed the squad, and he made it his mission to hunt them down.
Adriatic criminal career[]
Bellic and his cousin Roman in New York
After the end of the Yugoslav Wars, Bellic was forced to enter a life of crime, as he could not find a steady job. He began working for Russian Mafia boss Ray Bulgarin, who was involved in the Adriatic Sea slave trade. One day, Bellic was sent to escort a boat on a smuggling run into Italy, but the boat sank, with Bellic being the only survivor. Bulgarin, who had lost a lot of money on the boat, believed that Bellic had intentionally sunk the boat and stolen the goods; Bellic joined the merchant marine in order to flee from Bulgarin's reaches. In late 2007, he embarked on a seven-month journey to the United States on board the cargo ship Platypus, and he arrived in New York City in the spring of 2008.
Arrival in New York[]
Bellic wearing clothes from the "Russian Store".
Bellic met his cousin Roman Bellic at the docks of Brooklyn, and the two of them headed over to Roman's apartment in Brighton Beach, which became their home. Bellic became a cab driver for Roman's small cab company, and his first crime was helping Roman in fleeing from some Albanian Mob loan sharks, who chased the Bellics in a beige Willard sedan. Bellic would later beat up the loan sharks to help his cousin, and he pushed loan shark Dardan Petrela to his death from a warehouse window. Bellic later killed Vlad Glebov, a Faustin crime family lieutenant, after he discovered that Glebov was having sexual relations with Roman Bellic's girlfriend, Mallorie Bardas, leading to Mikhail Faustin forcing Bellic to work for him.
Bellic took part in the Faustin family's war against the Petrovic crime family as an errand boy for Faustin, and Faustin's right-hand man Dimitri Rascalov convinced Bellic to kill Faustin to appease the powerful mob boss Kenny Petrovic. Bellic killed Faustin at the Perestroika club, and Rascalov became the new boss of the family.
However, he attempted to have Bellic ambushed and killed after revealing that he was allied with Ray Bulgarin, and Rascalov chased the Bellics out of Brooklyn by burning down their apartment with Molotov cocktails. The Bellics fled to the Bronx, moving in to Mallorie Bardas' apartment.
Professional criminal[]
Bellic wearing Russian clothes
Bellic became a hitman-for-hire while staying in The Bronx, as Mallorie Bardas introduced Bellic to Elizabeta Torres for some work. Bellic would do jobs for criminals in exchange for money and favors, and he also worked for Spanish Lords boss Manny Escuela, Hillside Posse boss Little Jacob, and Irish Mob boss Patrick McReary. Bellic would later assist Torres in murdering Escuela, and he was later recruited as a hitman for the Irish by McReary. Bellic assisted him in the robbery of a savings bank in Little Italy, being given $250,000 for his role in the heist. Patrick's brother Gerald McReary, boss of the McReary crime family of the Irish Mob, would pay Bellic extra money to help him out with his work for the American Mafia, and he assassinated Ancelotti crime family caporegimes Anthony Spoleto and Frankie Garone in manners that made the Ancelottis blame the Albanian Mob for the killings; this weakened both gangs.
Hitman[]
Bellic before killing Oleg Minkov
Bellic confronting Jimmy Pegorino
Bellic was later entrapped into working for Patrick McReary's brother Francis McReary, the police commissioner, and he was ordered to kill McReary's brother Derrick McReary, who threatened to reveal Francis' corruption; Bellic instead killed Francis, as he saw Francis as a corrupt and bad person. Bellic also found work with Pegorino crime family capo Ray Boccino, who promised to help him in finding Florian Cravic in exchange for some work, and Bellic assassinated Jewish Mob boss Isaac Roth after a diamond deal with the Jewish criminals at the Smithsonian Museum was interrupted by Luis Fernando Lopez.
Bellic then worked for Boccino's boss James Pegorino, who became his primary employer after Torres was arrested by the CIA, which had sent an undercover agent named Karen Daniels to become Bellic's girlfriend and gain access to his secrets. Bellic was entrapped into working for the CIA and Jon Gravelli, the boss of the Gambetti crime family and an associate of the CIA. Bellic took down criminals such as Oleg Minkov and suspected terrorists like Eduard Borodin, and he was also used to sabotage the Russian Mafia's operations, destroying some of their heroin.
As a reward for his cooperation, the CIA delivered a drug-addicted and insane Darko Brevic to Bellic at John F. Kennedy International Airport, and Bellic chose to spare him, knowing that living was worse than dying for him.
Rascalov and Pegorino murders[]
Bellic decided to betray Pegorino when he found out that Pegorino was going to do a heroin deal with Rascalov, as Bellic tracked Rascalov down to the Platypus and killed him and several of his hitmen before the deal could go through. This act of revenge destroyed the Faustin family, and it cost the American Mafia a lot of money. An infuriated Pegorino attempted to kill Bellic at his brother's wedding, but he instead killed Katie McReary, Patrick McReary's sister and Bellic's friend, in a drive-by shooting. Bellic had his revenge by tracking Pegorino down to a Jersey City casino before chasing him to Liberty Island, where he gunned him down. Bellic's murder of Pegorino was his last major criminal act, as he decided to stop working as a contract killer now that his revenge against Darko was complete, and now that the Russian Mafia no longer wanted him dead. Bellic would be suspected in several vigilante killings, and he decided to live a normal life with his cousin and his family.
Gallery[]
Images[]
