Francis McReary

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Character

Francis McReary
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Appearances	[[Appearance::Grand Theft Auto IV]]
Full Name	Francis McReary
Aliases	Frankie
Gender	Gender::Male
Place of Birth	Dukes, Liberty City
Nationality	American
Home	Liberty City
Family	Maureen McReary (mother) Mr. McReary (father) Kate McReary (sister) Patrick McReary (brother) Gerald McReary (brother) Derrick McReary (brother)
Main Affiliations	LCPD
Vehicles	Landstalker
Voiced by	Thomas Lyons
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Francis "Frankie" McReary is a corrupt police detective, and an estranged member of the McReary clan.

Biography

Francis and his brothers grew up in an Irish Catholic home. He is looked down upon by his brothers, who consider him a hypocrite for his police career; Patrick McReary remarks that "[Francis is] just as crooked as we are — moreso"; Francis affords his brothers similar disdain for their open criminality. He initially wanted to become a priest, but as his brother Packie recalls, he had to abandon that ambition after being caught cheating on his final test to be a priest; he also had a tendency to take money from the donation plate as an altar boy.

Francis tells Niko that his philosophy to cleaning up the streets of Liberty City is "one percent at a time" — assassinate small-time crooks and drug dealers one by one, to "improve" the city without involving the legal system. This may be mere self-justification on Francis' part — the tasks he sets for Niko are overwhelmingly focused on covering up his own misdeeds. Francis is implied to have illicit tastes, which go unspecified but which may be related to drugs and/or prostitution, as he orders the assassination of a drug-dealing pimp who is implied to be personally inconveniencing him.

Events of GTAIV

Francis first meets Niko Bellic during a publicity spot with Manny Escuela. Later in the game, he calls Niko and arranges a meeting at Castle Gardens, where he reveals that he knows of Niko's criminal activity in Liberty City; Niko agrees to work for Francis in exchange for his turning a blind eye to Niko's other crimes.

Francis first orders the death of a blackmailer who possesses incriminating photographs, and then the death of Tom Goldberg, a lawyer who has evidence against Francis. He has Niko kill a drug-dealer and pimp in the North Holland projects, and then the dealer's accomplice, who is threatening to talk to the police about McReary.

Blood Brothers

Francis' brother Derrick returns from Ireland; Francis fears that Derrick intends to expose Francis' corruption out of spite, and orders Niko to kill Derrick during a meeting he has arranged with his brother. Niko either chooses to follow Francis' orders, or goes against them and spares Derrick's life by killing Francis instead. Either choice will end Niko's career with Francis, although Niko can choose to exploit Francis' guilt in future if he survives.

Mission Appearances

• Street Sweeper
• Call and Collect (Boss)
• Final Interview (Boss)
• Holland Nights (Boss)
• Lure (Boss)
• Blood Brothers (Boss, Killed depending on the player's decisions)

Wanted level reduction

If Francis is spared in Blood Brothers, the player can call him and have him clear their Wanted level. Although this can be done multiple times, the wait required between calls is thus far undetermined — calling too soon after the last successful call will merely redirect to Francis' answering machine. Once the player finishes the story missions, Francis' ability will not be available; Kiki Jenkins, however, can perform the same favour.

Trivia

• If Niko kills Francis, his gravestone (after the mission Undertaker) reads: "Here Lies Francis McReary Shot Dead"
• Francis drives a grey Landstalker, seen in the beginning cutscene of Blood Brothers
• Being that Francis is an LCPD Officer, his record is not listed in the LCPD Database.