The Vercetti Gang was an organized crime syndicate formed in 1986 in the city of Miami, Florida in the southern United States essentially as a splinter group of the Forelli crime family. The gang was led by Tommy Vercetti and Lance Vance, the latter of whom later betrayed Vercetti, leading to his death. Vercetti was sent to Miami on behalf of mob boss Sonny Forelli, who wanted to set Vercetti up to be killed by Ricardo Diaz and his men. However, Vercetti took down Diaz and replaced him as the new drug baron of Miami, taking over several businesses across the city and becoming a rich man.
The Vercetti Gang allied with Umberto Robina's Cuban gang in Little Havana and Mitch Baker's bikers, and it would fight against the Haitian gang of Little Haiti and the Streetwannabes during the late 1980s. Later in 1986, Forelli headed to Miami to force Vercetti to pay him a "fair slice" of his income, fearing that Vercetti had abandoned his old crime family. Forelli was killed in a shootout at Vercetti's mansion, and Vercetti took over Miami for himself, equipping his blue-suited guards with Uzis and waging war against his enemies while selling cocaine on the streets.